Delegates at a ceremony held in HCM City on April 14 to inaugurate the Nutifood Nutrition Research Institute in Sweden. — Photo courtesy of the company

HCM CITY — Nutifood on April 14 announced the launch of the Nutifood Nutrition Research Institute in Sweden and signing of a communication agreement with the Ministry of Health and agreements with seven medical associations and five medicine and pharmacy universities to bring European standard nutritional solutions to Việt Nam.

Trần Thanh Hải, the company chairman, said: “We were keen to co-operate with the world’s leading scientists and nutritionists … to make products that are most suitable for Vietnamese people’s physiology. And that was the reason we established the Nutifood Nutrition Research Institute in Sweden.”

It has over 50 leading European and Vietnamese scientists and nutritionists working and collaborating with major global nutrition companies like Germany’s BASF, the US’s DuPont and Switzerland’s DSM, medical associations and medical and pharmaceutical universities.

Speaking at the launching event in HCM City on Wednesday, Ann Mawe, Sweden’s ambassador to Vietnam, hailed Nutifood’s investment in Sweden, which is renowned for its high-quality milk.

Nutifood and the Ministry of Health will run communications programme to improve awareness of nutrition to prevent obesity and overweight in Vietnamese children.

Deputy Minister of Health Đỗ Xuân Tuyên said the malnutrition rate in Việt Nam remains high at 23.2 per cent while the obesity and overweight rate is increasing quickly, especially in urban areas and the lack of micronutrients has not improved.

Communication activities to raise awareness of the importance of appropriate nutrition, consequences of obesity and how to prevent obesity in children are necessary, he said. — VNS