DoST’s ‘Momsie’ hopes to give babies an offer they can’t refuse

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has developed a tasty baby food out of mongo, soybeans, peanuts and other protein-rich legumes—ingredients often refused by their intended consumers.

“Momsie,” a complementary food for children aged 6 months to 3 years, has a rich, nutty and chocolaty flavor. It comes ready-to-eat and has a shelf life of up to a year, according to Mario Capanzana, director of the DOST’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute.

Capanzana said Food and Nutrition Research Institute researchers (FNRI) worked for a year on the product, which was launched Saturday in line with the observance of National Science and Technology Week in Pasay City.

“Now that the development of Momsie is finished, we are now promoting it to producers of complementary foods. We are positive that this will translate to an improvement among our targeted consumers,” Capanzana said, referring to infants and toddlers.

Momsie could be sold at P10 per 25-gram sachet or P100 per 300-gram bottle, he said.

The DOST-FNRI is currently working on new food products especially for pregnant women, the official added. “Proper food intake should start from pregnant women, and this is our next step in support of the 1,000 days of life (starting when the child is still in the womb),” Capanzana explained.

A 2003 FNRI national nutrition survey found that over three million Filipino children aged 0 to 5 years old were underweight for their age, while 3.5 million children were short for their age, possibly due to chronic undernutrition or malnutrition.