PROGRAMMES: Goodness every school day

FRUIT DRINK More than 1,200 pupils in the vicinity of the new Coca-Cola plant in Bandar Enstek, Negri Sembilan will be the beneficiaries of a pilot programme which will provide them with a fruit drink that contains micronutrients for a balanced diet.

Under the US$100,000 (RM300,000) initiative, pupils and teachers from SK LB Johnson, SK Jijan and SK Dato’ Ahmad Manaf will receive a serving of the Nurisha fruit drink a day throughout the school term until August 2012.

During this period, surveys of pupils, teachers and parents will be used to evaluate whether pupils like the beverage.

Pupils will also receive nutrition, health and environmental education. Workshops on nutrition and health education will be conducted by experts from a local university. Pupils will be taught the importance of a clean environment and recycling.

Nurisha is a specially formulated, not-for-sale nutrient-filled drink, which contains 10 per cent orange juice, manufactured for select community programmes.

Each 200ml serving supplies 90 kilocalories of energy with 11 essential vitamins and minerals including iron, zinc, Vitamin A, folic acid, calcium and Vitamin C. The tasty, orange flavour makes the drink appealing to children while supplementing their diet.

The programme is approved by the Ministry of Health and Education Ministry while the schools were selected by Coca-Cola Malaysia and the Negri Sembilan State Education Department.