LAHORE - The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) Pakistan successfully launched its transformative project, “Nutritious Fruit Bars,” aimed at revolutionising the fruit value chain in Pakistan.
The project launch event, titled “Empowering Health and Sustainability through Nutrient Enriched Fruit Bars,” took place in Lahore on Tuesday.
This initiative addressed the critical challenge of post-harvest losses in fruits like apricots and dates, which significantly impacted food security and economic stability in rural communities.
Post-harvest losses, amounting to as much as 30 percent of the harvest before reaching consumers, posed a significant threat to food security and economic resilience.
GAIN’s project, funded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) in collaboration with Arla Food Ingredients (AFI) and Danish Industry (DI), is aimed to develop innovative and affordable fruit-based products to mitigate these losses and provide nutritious food options, especially for low-income consumers.
Country Director of GAIN Pakistan, Farah Naz, highlighted the importance of this initiative in addressing malnutrition and fostering sustainable food systems. “The ‘Nutritious Fruit Bars’ project came at a crucial time, offering a sustainable and scalable solution to combat post-harvest fruit losses,” she said.
She added, “By working collaboratively with stakeholders and leveraging technical expertise, we aimed to make healthy food snack options accessible to vulnerable populations.”
The event brought together key stakeholders from the public sector, private sector/SUN Business Network (SBN) members, global partners, and relevant stakeholders to discuss innovative solutions in the fruit value chain. A delegate of international experts from GAIN, AFI and DI also joined the event and shared the importance of nutritious food products.
The event agenda included sessions on leveraging expertise for sustainable fruit-based solutions, responsible business conduct, regulatory compliance, and sustainable business models in the fruit value chain.
A panel discussion focused on responsible business conduct and sustainable practices, featuring experts from academia, industry, and regulatory bodies was held to get insights from technical experts about regulations, product positioning and affordability etc.
