Danone SN Indonesia and LIPI Explores Collaboration on Food Research and Innovation

Jakarta (ANTARA) - (8 July 2020) – Amidst COVID-19 pandemic, more attention has to be given to children's daily nutrition fulfillment needs. With the possible decrease of family income as well as new challenge in accessing healthcare facilities, children are not only prone to infectious diseases, but also malnutrition which may lead to stunting.

To support stunting prevention in the middle of the pandemic, Danone Specialized Nutrition (SN) Indonesia explores research and innovation collaboration with LIPI in 'Research and Technology Collaboration to Support Children's Nutrition during Pandemic Discussion Forum' on Wednesday 8 July 2020. This forum was a follow up from a production partnership of 5.000 Probarz and 4.000 Aitamie which are produced and distributed to support nutrition fulfillment of children affected by the pandemic.

Prof. Bambang Permadi Soemantri Brodjonegoro, S.E., M.U.P., Ph.D., Indonesian Research and Technology Minister/ BRIN Chairman during the discussion forum stressed that stunting is a prioritized issue as it can be the core reason of existing national development problems, especially when it is related to human resources quality. "Human resources problems are not solely about education. Without a good basic health from the early age, a child cannot attend school and get good achievements in school. Research and innovation like food technology is very crucial and needs to be able to encourage affordable foods for society," added Bambang.

“We welcome the collaboration with Danone Specialized Nutrition Indonesia. For a while, we are also committed to supporting stunting prevention based on product development that can also bring positive economic impact to Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the middle of the society. Probarz and Aitamie, for example, are developed to suit flavors that are familiar and favored by children with adequate nutritional content," said Dr. Laksana Tri Handoko, LIPI Chairperson.

Danone SN Indonesia also puts special attention to nutrition status and children's health in Indonesia while also continuously supports government's effort to prevent and manage stunting. 

Connie Ang, CEO Danone SN Indonesia said:“We are proud to be one of the government's partner in stunting prevention during COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Our commitment to research and technology is reflected to Danone Nutricia Research Sarihusada R&I Center in Sarihusada Factory in Yogyakarta, Nutriplanet study, to the recent collaboration with LIPI. We are ready to discuss further about research and technology collaboration in the future with LIPI and other related government bodies."

In the discussion forum, both the Minister of Research and Technology and LIPI Chairperson also mentioned about the importance of triple helix partnership which is between the government, academician or researcher, as well as private sectors to bring positive impact to the society. One of them is to developing products that are based on research and technology from the upmost and downmost stream. (E10/*)/Rls).