DISASTER FOOD FROM DOST /
U.S. TO PROVIDE $8.5 M FOOD AID TO VICTIMS
[PHOTO AT LEFT - Banca alley. Residents use bancas to navigate a still flooded barangay in Muntinlupa. Meralco said 21 submerged barangays around Laguna Lake are still without electricity yesterday. PAT ROQUE, MANILA STANDARD, AP]
MANILA, OCTOBER 27, 2009 (STAR) By Dulce Arguelles-Sanchez - Following the evacuation of thousands of families after two storms ripped through the country, the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) released data on three food products it developed specifically for disasters and calamities.
Instant noodles fortified with squash, instant cream soups, and the compressed food bar “are stopgap measures to prevent the onset of malnutrition” in evacuation centers and areas affected by disasters and calamities, DOST-FNRI science research specialist Salvador Serrano told The STAR.
He said what makes these products suitable for disasters is that while the formula for each product is protected by a patent, they can all be made using readily available materials and packaged using “household level technology” using a portable sealer.
“Depending on the situation, you can make the products on site or use thicker (foil) packaging to make them suitable for airdrops in areas isolated by landslides or floods,” Serrano said.
He said local government units, in order to prepare for the worst, may contact DOST-FNRI chief Dr. Mario Capanzana. The DOST-FNRI can then forge a memorandum of understanding in order to teach the LGU’s workers how to make and pack each product.
Serrano said the products were developed in 1998, but no LGU has adopted the technology, either “because there were no resources or there was no will” to do so.
“Compared to other conventional food items used in disaster feeding operations (sardines, noodles, canned goods), these food products are relatively cheaper to produce, especially in bulk,” he said.
Serrano said these products are light and portable, but energy dense, and one piece or packet addresses one-third of the Required Energy and Nutrient Intake (RENI) for the day, and none of the products have monosodium glutamate.
Compressed food
Serrano said the compressed food has a taste and texture similar to polvoron, and can be eaten dry or prepared into porridge by just adding hot water.
“Compressed food is part of military food rations during operations and civilian missions. It is a ready-to-eat cereal-legume based nutritious food with milk, vegetable fat and sugar. The product is one of the best forms of products in times of disaster or calamity because it is light, compact, convenient to handle and store and easy to distribute,” according to a product description provided by the DOST-FNRI.
Each 30-gram piece provides 448 kilocalories, which represents eight percent of the day’s energy needs for children four to six years old. It also provides 16 percent of the children’s protein requirement for the day.
Instant cream soups
The DOST-FNRI developed two flavors for the instant cream soup powder, squash and mongo.
“Soup is an integral part of the Filipino diet because it awakens the taste buds, conditions the appetite and flushes the food smoothly down the throat. Aside from being an opening and intervening side dish, the FNRI transformed and developed cream soups suitable for energy and nutrition rehabilitation,” the agency said.
The DOST-FNRI said since the cream soups are in powdered form, they are “easy to handle and transport.” Evacuees can simply add the 30-gram pack in 250 milliliters of water, and consuming this soup will satisfy 28 percent of the protein and seven percent of the energy a four to six-year-old child needs for the day.
About 100 grams of the squash soup provides 347 kcal, while the mongo soup provides 373 kcal. The shelf life of the soup is about eight to nine months.
Instant noodles
DOST-FNRI says its version of the instant noodles for disaster feeding is “enriched with beta-carotene naturally present in squash. The product is a blend of wheat flour, carrots and onion leaves. Addition of hot boiling water to the product in cup will give a nutritious hot chicken-flavored noodle soup.”
A 25-gram serving, which can be packed in styropor cups, will provide 16 percent of the energy and 20 percent of the protein needs of a four to six-year-old child.
“The competitive advantage of the product over those available in the markets is its high nutritive value,” the DOST-FNRI said.
The agency said that 100 grams of noodles will provide 1.2 milligrams of beta-carotene.
The DOST-FNRI recommends that the noodles in cups be stored in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. “Stored under these conditions, the beta-carotene content of the product will be within the recommended level for a period of four months,” the agency said.
US to provide $8.5-million food assistance for typhoon victims (The Philippine Star) Updated October 27, 2009 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Visiting US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced yesterday the US government would provide $8.5 million in food assistance for the 60-day sustenance of an estimated 438,000 typhoon victims.
During a meeting with President Arroyo and Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, Vilsack said the commodity donations come from the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food for Progress program for the Philippines.
“The United States understands the importance of international assistance in the aftermath of disasters like the typhoons that recently hit the Philippines,” he said.
“The food aid I am announcing today will help the people with the most need of assistance, and as a longstanding friend and partner of the Philippines, the United States stands ready to continue our cooperation and assistance in the future.”
The Food for Progress allocations are for roughly 7,000 metric tons of US rice and 680 metric tons of non-fat dry milk.
These will be processed into ultra high temperature milk and biscuits and distributed to flood victims.
The Philippines is the largest recipient of US food aid programs in Asia, with programs dating back to 1995.
In 2009, the USDA signed three Food for Progress agreements with the Philippines valued at $25 million.
Food for Progress has consistently helped developing countries advance economic reform and expand private enterprise.
It has, in its 24 years of existence, played an important role in helping developing countries support their agricultural sector.
The Food for Progress program provides US agricultural commodities to developing countries and emerging democracies committed to introducing and expanding free enterprise in the agricultural sector.
Commodities are currently provided on a donation basis to foreign governments, private voluntary organizations, non-profit organizations, cooperatives or intergovernmental organizations.
Projects are chosen based on their agricultural focus, the country’s needs, the proposal’s quality and the organization’s management, experience and financial and technical capabilities.
Vilsack arrived in Manila with top executives of 20 US agribusiness companies for a four-day mission geared to further strengthen trade and investment ties between the two countries in the areas of fisheries, biofuels, livestock, poultry and dairy production.
Highlighting the Philippine trip of the US Agribusiness Trade and Investment Mission are separate meetings of this top-level delegation with President Arroyo and Cabinet executives led by Yap, along with officials of almost 200 local companies and of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
Vilsack is in the Philippines to open a US Trade Mission to further solidify direct commercial relations between US and Philippine producers, processors, traders, and investors.
Yap said the itinerary of the Vilsack-led mission also includes a business forum at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati; agricultural briefings, laboratory tours and a palay-harvesting activity at the IRRI headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna; milk and biscuit distribution in a public elementary school as well as a tour of a private flour mill.
Represented in the US mission are agribusiness companies Agri-Ima GIS Technology; American Trading Services, LLC; Cargill, Inc.; EcoVative Resources; Garuda International; Hima International; Intervision Foods; Kraft Foods; Land O’Lakes; Novick Industries Ltd.; The Alan Group; US Fed Group; Valmont Industries, Inc.; and Verdant Ocean, Inc.
Vilsack’s group was scheduled to visit IRRI on Sunday with US Ambassador Kristie Kenney, Yap and other Department of Agriculture officials.
After his visit, Vilsack will proceed to China to participate in bilateral meetings on agricultural trade and development.
Vilsack will take part in the Oct. 28-29 meeting of the US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade in Hangzhou, along with US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.
Taiwan donates 8 tons of goods
Eight tons of relief goods from Taiwan arrived yesterday at Villamor Air Base aboard a Taiwan military aircraft.
Donated to the victims of storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng,” the relief goods included assorted noodles, biscuits, towels, clothes, slippers, sweet canned corn, toiletries and detergent, as well as underwear and assorted medical supplies.
These were turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Manila Economic and Cultural Office director Manuel Barcelona and Taipei Economic and Cultural Office deputy representative Michael C.Y. Hsu met the planeload of goods.
Barcelona said he is very thankful to TECO officials for their initiative in donating the needed supplies through the help of the Go Guang Monastery in Taiwan and the Buddha Light Foundation.
This is Taiwan’s fourth donation of food supplies and medicine for typhoon victims, he added.
Unicef response to last 4 months
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) expects its emergency response to last four months as the needs of children affected by Ondoy are still very critical.
“UNICEF brings its emergency expertise in a coordinated response to address all the aspects of a child’s life,” said UNICEF Representative Vanessa Tobin.
“Having gone through something as shocking as this, children will need the help quickly, if only we give them the support that they need.”
UNICEF is delivering supplies and services for affected children a month after the onslaught of Ondoy.
The UN agency asked its offices in developed countries to help raise more funds for the flood victims.
It also joined in a flash appeal to raise $74 million for agriculture, camp coordination and management, early recovery, food, health, livelihood, logistics and emergency communications, shelter, non-food items, education, child protection and water sanitation.
UNICEF delivered essential supplies within 24 hours of the storm that devastated Metro Manila to benefit children displaced by the massive flooding.
UNICEF is also on the ground, managing a coordinated response to the needs of children in health and nutrition, education, child protection and water and sanitation. – Pia Lee-Brago, Paolo Romero, Rudy Santos