Filipino infants and young children still continue to be subjected to poor feeding practices, the 2021 Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS)of the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) revealed. The survey indicated that six out of 10 infants under six months old were exclusively breastfed. Continued breastfeeding of mothers for young children until they reach 2 years old was reported only among four out of 10 children. DOST-FNRI however, mentioned that the majority, or 80 percent of infants during their 6th to 8th month received timely complementary food, the survey reported. In spite of the availability of complementary foods, the energy intake of both infants six to 11 months old and young children one to two years old is highly inadequate. It added that the majority of their energy and protein intakes come from milk, rice, lugaw or rice porridge, cereals, egg, and chicken which resulted into a less diverse diet. Furthermore, preschoolers aged 3 to 5 years have significantly increased nutritional and energy requirements. While the ENNS discovered that their inadequacy in protein is low, the results also revealed that they have a high percentage of energy and micronutrient inadequacy. "Due to inadequate nutrition among infants and children, malnutrition is still rampant," DOST-FNRI said, Stunting is the most common type of malnutrition in the country, followed by being underweight, wasting, and being overweight for height. During the first six months, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding to achieve optimal growth, development, and health of the babies, which must be followed by continued breastfeeding with the addition of appropriate, adequate, and safe complementary foods. The WHO recommendation is supported by the Nutritional Guidelines for Filipinos (NGF) messages crafted by a Technical Working Group (TWG) led by the DOST-FNRI. Nevertheless, according to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), exclusive breastfeeding rates decline steadily from birth to 5 months of age in every region of the world. DOST-FNRI reiterates that if there is a continuance of poor food-feeding practices the rate of malnourished children will skyrocket. Hence, the Institute continues to develop complementary foods supplemented with vegetables and transfers these technologies to qualified adopters like micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). For instance, the DOST-FNRI’s Rice-Mongo Instant Blend and Rice-Mongo-Sesame Blend are complementary food technologies developed to help combat malnutrition among Filipino children 6 months to 3 years old. These complementary foods are high in protein, energy, and minerals. They can be prepared by adding boiled water to the Rice-Mongo Instant Blend, while the Rice-Mongo-Sesame Blend needs boiling in water for about 3 minutes. Adding mashed fruits or boiled and mashed vegetables improves nutritional value, taste, and texture. These blends can provide 15 percent of the daily recommended energy and 27 percent of the daily recommended protein intake. Aside from the Rice-Mongo Blends, the DOST-FNRI also developed the Rice-Mongo Curls and Rice-Mongo Crunchies which are nutritious alternative snacks for kids rich in protein, energy, and minerals. In relation to this, message No. 2 of the NGF discusses complementary feeding practices, where mothers and caregivers can be guided on what foods to give their babies based on age. For example, food for 6 months old: two to three tablespoons of cooked and mashed root crops, 2 1/2 ripe bananas, 3/4 cup mashed mongo, and two cups whole milk. The DOST-FNRI encourages parents, individuals, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as LGUs and schools to refer to the NGF to learn more about an individual's health and nutrition. They are also potential adoptors of the complementary blends and snacks technologies to help address energy and micronutrient deficiency among children, as well as provide jobs, income, and local revenue.