Nutrition literacy urgency, access to nutritious food stressed

Government agencies and the private sector recently collaborated to improve the development of Filipino children through the enhancement of nutrition literacy and access to adequate and healthy food.

The urgency for such collaboration was stressed during the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines’ (ECCP) 4th Nutrition Forum organized by the ECCP’s Food and Beverage Committee last 24 July 2025 at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City.

With the “Feeding the Future: Nutrition, Cognition, and Consumer Education,” the forum brought together top-level policymakers, health advocates, private sector leaders, development partners, and academic experts to push forward solutions to the country’s most pressing nutrition challenges.

Children’s health

and cognitive development

With children’s health and cognitive development at the core of the discussions, it emphasized the urgent need to enhance nutrition literacy, improve access to nutritious food, and build stronger public-private collaborations.

“Interventions to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty must be comprehensively designed to provide end-to-end solutions, beginning at the most foundational stage: in the womb,” said Social Welfare and Development Undersecretary Fatima Aliah Quibranza Dimaporo.

“By harnessing the cognitive power of good nutrition, we can ensure Filipinos in poverty can compete with the equity they deserve,” she added.

Also at the forum, industry leaders echoed the call for shared responsibility in promoting nutrition security, with Alaska Milk Corporation managing director Tarang Gupta stating: “We believe dairy is a force for good, but only when it is responsibly sourced, locally supported, and equitably delivered.”

“By working closely with the government and other stakeholders, we can make food and nutrition security a shared reality for every Filipino family,” Gupta stressed.

For his part, Mega Prime Foods Inc. chief growth and development officer Marvin Tiu Lim emphasized the industry’s role in nutrition innovation, saying, “We are committed to uplifting lives by providing nutritious food such as Mega Sardines, a certified superfood by the Medical Wellness Association, given its high nutrition density index.”

Food and Drugs Administration director general Atty. Paolo Teston reiterated the agency’s commitment: “The FDA continues to implement rules governing the licensing of food establishments and the registration of health products. We envision a nation of well-informed consumers with safe and reliable access to regulated health products.”

International perspectives were also brought into focus.

“School meals provide a unique opportunity to address malnutrition, improve access to education, and support cognitive development. Finland’s School Meals Program is a transformative social innovation that helped build a more equal society,” shared Ms. Veera Kaarela, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Finland.

System-based solutions

Dr. Mario Capanzana of the Philippine Chamber of Food Manufacturers Inc. also underlined the need for systems-based solutions, saying “Functional nutrients in pre-packaged food are necessary to close nutrient gaps among Filipinos. All actors—civil society, academia, government, and the private sector—need to sit down and discuss to come up with a solid strategy to institutionalize a harmonized, systems-based approach that will multiply impact nutritionally across the country.”

The Forum featured an esteemed lineup of panelists, including Mr. Matt Kovac of Food Industry Asia, Prof. Paul Bagabaldo of UP Los Baños, and Mr. Lyonel Tanganco, founder of the Malusog at Matalinong Bata Coalition.

“To beat stunting, we need systems that prevent it from happening in the first place. That’s why we’re studying how to harness public health financing to mobilize primary care: to monitor, counsel, and treat pregnant women and young children at scale,” shared Tanganco, underscoring the forum’s message that nutrition is foundational to development. (RAFFY AYENG)