CABARROGUIS, Quirino, Oct 20 (PIA) -- The Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc., in partnership with the Department of Education, launched its Nutri-Juice Feeding Program which will benefit some 10,000 school children from 167 schools in the province.

The nutri-juice was developed by the company, in partnership with the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST), to advocate good health and improve the nutrition status of malnourished children, Edna dela Cruz of Coca-Cola said.

“Quirino was chosen as one of the beneficiaries, along with Tuguegarao City in region 2 and other provinces in the country, because of the high prevalence of iron deficiency anemia among school children,” dela Cruz said.

The Nutri-Juice is orange-flavored contained in a 200 ml tetra pack, she said.

It is fortified with vitamins A and C, iron, zinc and lysine, which can contribute to lessen the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies among children, specifically in iron.

The nutri-juice is given free to the school children as part of the Coca-Cola’s corporate social responsibility and in celebration of its 100th anniversary.

A nutri-juice feeding program was also implemented in 2005 through a 50-50 sharing between the provincial government and Coca-cola, Raquel Dicsa Gundayao-Layacan, division medical officer, said.

“Based on our records, the nutri-juice has helped a lot in the improvement of the nutritional status of the school children,” Layacan said.

Governor Junie E. Cua thanked Coca-cola for its civic-mindedness and sense of generosity in sharing its bounties to the less fortunate students especially to the province.

He also committed the provincial government’s full support to the health and nutrition programs for the pupils as he enjoined the parents and the teachers to continue working towards the attainment of a malnourished-free province.

“Because of your cooperation, the nutrition programs in our province have been very successful which enable us to be a Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition (Crown) awardee. Through your support, we hope we can reach the Hall Of Fame award,” Cua said. (TCB/PIA2 Quirino)