27 September 2022, Ozamiz City (CNAO Lelita G. Navarez) - With the Technology Licensing Agreement being renewed, the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) and the Local Government of Ozamiz City pushed the reopening of the Ozamiz City Complementary Food Production Facility with two additional complementary food products early this month.
DOST- Provincial Science and Technology Center (PSTC) Misamis Occidental Director Eufresnie Ann Simbajon, together with the four (4) representatives from DOST-FNRI, headed by Senior Science Research Specialist (SSRS I) Ulpiano A. Florida, and three (3) technicians from the equipment suppliers paid a courtesy visit to Ozamiz City Mayor Atty. Henry “Indy” F. Oaminal, Jr. on September 6, 2022. The team expressed their gratitude to Mayor Oaminal for his support to DOST-FNRI’s Malnutrition Reduction Program (MRP) in which Ozamiz City was a recipient in Batch 2 and now continued in Batch 3.
The technicians from GTC-Propack and GTC Engineering inspected the existing machines, installed the new ones and conducted test runs.
SRS Engr. Charlie Adona, together with his team, facilitated the three-day Technology Transfer Training on September 6-8, for the four (4) complementary food products developed by DOST-FNRI, namely: Rice-Mongo-Sesame Ready-to-Cook Baby Food Blend, Rice-Mongo Crunchies, Rice-Mongo Instant Blend and Rice-Mongo Curls. The training participants were the five (5) newly-hired production staff who are Cookery NC II holders, the City Nutrition Office personnel and an electrician from the City Engineer’s Office.
On September 19, DOST Undersecretary for Regional Operations, Sancho Mabborang, visited the facility along with the regional and provincial DOST personnel. Usec. Mabborang committed to assist the initial packaging of the four (4) products through Provincial Director Simbajon. He further instructed his staff to assist LGU - Ozamiz City in the application for Food and Drugs Administration registration in order that the complementary food products produced by the facility can be displayed in groceries and supermarkets.
The Malnutrition Reduction Program (MRP) of the DOST-FNRI was crafted to address the problem of undernutrition among young children. Under the MRP is a strategy called DOST-PINOY which is a package of intervention that involves direct feeding of rice-mongo based complementary foods to 6 to 59 months preschoolers back -to-back with nutrition education among pregnant women, lactating mothers and mothers/fathers/caregivers of malnourished children and those with 6-23 months preschool children.
