Johannesburg – Well-known multinational food and drink processing company Nestlé, introduced its new multi-nutrient product today in Soweto to directly deal with the hidden hunger in the community.
Hidden hunger is described as the lack of nutrients in the food that they consume on a daily basis. According to Nestle East and Southern Africa (Esar), the new “Everyday NutriStrong” is the solution to boost and provide the body with more nutrients than before.
The business executive officer for the dairy business Nestle Esar, Takudzwa Mupfurutsa told IOL that the new product is indeed the solution for all families that face malnutrition.
“This product is all good for the family. Nespray has been there for the longest time and has been really targeted at school-aged people, but we never had a proposition that takes us beyond the older generation and this allows us to do that,“ he said.
However, a general practitioner, Tiny Mhinga, said he is grateful to be part of the Nestle launch.
“I am a panellist because of my frequent talks, health talks that I give so generously to the population. Talking about health education is so important and you come to realise that it is not only about treating patients but also educating the population,” he said.
Mhinga said the Nestle product is a good one and their timing of launching is right as he wouldn’t believe all the nutrients when growing up that there are certain products that can help build up the body and brain.
He said the country still has a problem of preserving food because along the process it loses nutrients.
“Last week, I went to a fruit market and by just tapping a mango you could tell that it was harvested two months back. You can only have the taste but the actual nutrients are not there,” he stated.
Adding to Mhinga’s point, Mupfurutsa said Everyday can be sprinkled into food like porridge before consuming so that it adds more of the nutrients it has.
Furthermore, a professional dietician and senior lecturer in the department of nutrition and dietetics at the University of Free State said the role of nutrients, particularly during young adulthood and youth years, is very important because it determines the type of life that you will live.
“It is also important in the upbringing of children and their nutritional state, brain and body development,” she said.
She urged people to take care of themselves now because by the time they get older they will miss a chance to correct their eating habits.
