Claim: Nutribun was the “icing on the cake” of the programs of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Rating: FALSE
The Facts: A circulating post from the page ‘Marcos & Duterte Legacy – Philippines’ claims that the famous Nutribun during the 1970s was a program of former president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
This is false.
Marcos claimed credit for a project he did not create.
The Nutribun was a project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) during the 70s to alleviate extreme hunger and malnutrition of children in the Philippines during the dictatorship of Marcos.
According to the documents, the project should be credited to Dr. R.W Engel, head of Biochemistry and Nutrition at Virginia Polytechnic University.
Dr. Engel created a formula of ingredients to ensure proper nutrition for the children of the Philippines. This formula was then incorporated into the bread by local bakers in the Philippines to feed the children in school.
Although it is true that the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) has currently introduced a new version of Nutribun, the truth of the past should not be tainted or revised, especially the atrocities linked with this bread.
Why we fact-checked this: Claims like this post contain historical disinformation which should not be tolerated.
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