The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) announced Friday, July 30, that the enhanced nutribun will soon be available in Gumaca, Quezon.
DOST Secretary Fortunato “Boy” T. de la Peña said the enhanced nutribun production facility was launched at Four K Kakao Farm in Barangay Villa Principe in Gumaca, Quezon on July 17.
“The Enhanced Nutribun will soon be available in Gumaca, Quezon Province following the launch of its production facility last July 17, 2021,” he said on the DOSTv Facebook page on Friday.
De la Peña and Quezon 4th district Rep. Angelita “Helen” Tan, chairperson of the House Committee on Health, graced the event.
Tan cited that her Office adopted the enhanced nutribun technology of the DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) because of the “growing problem on malnutrition” in her province.
“The e-nutribun production facility is under my Sariling Sikap Program. It is not funded by the DOST. Because of growing problem on malnutrition, I decided to launch it not only in my district, but to Quezon province,” she told the Manila Bulletin in a Viber message.
Officials from DOST-Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), DOST-local officials of Gumaca, Quezon, and the administrator of Four K Kakao Farm attended the launch.
In 2020, the DOST-FNRI launched its enhanced nutribun, which is made with squash. It was in response to the need for more nutritious food products in support of the supplementary feeding program of the government during the community quarantine as stipulated in Department of Social Welfare and Development Memorandum Circular No. 12 Series of 2020.
The enhanced squash nutribun weights approximately 160 grams and contains 504 calories, 17.8 grams protein, 6.08 milligrams iron, and 244 micrograms (ug) of vitamin A.
In the last quarter of 2020, the DOST-FNRI announced that entrepreneurs can avail the technology of the enhanced nutribun free of charge as long as they are technically-capable to produce it commercially.
The DOST-FNRI also launched its new enhanced nutribun carrot variant on April 28.
The round-shaped enhanced carrot nutribun provides energy, protein, vitamin A, iron, calcium, potassium, and zinc in significant quantities recommended for young children. It has zero trans-fatty acids (or trans-fats) and has no cholesterol, the DOST-FNRI said.
Like the squash variant, one serving of enhanced nutribun with carrots contains 500 kilocalories. It has 18 grams of protein, six milligrams of iron and 350 of vitamin A.