• Combination of eggs and sprats 

The Government Midwifery Service Association requested the Government to provide a new nutritious food product to children between six months and three years of age until Thriposha production is regenerated by the Sri Lanka Thriposha Limited.

The Association emphasised to provide a mixture of nutritious food, including both eggs and sprats (halmasso) which contain a high amount of nutrition, The Daily Morning learnt.

Thriposha is a nutritious supplementary food which is essential for pregnant women, lactating mothers, and undernourished children in order to improve their nutritional status.

The Chairperson of the Association Devika Kodithuvakku told The Daily Morning yesterday (4) that the provision of Thriposha to children aged between six months to three years has been stalled for about a year. Kodituwakku emphasised: “It is important to provide nutrition for children, and I request the Government to provide an essential nutritional food until Thriposha is regenerated, as this hinders their growth. If there are difficulties in providing Thriposha for the children, then, there should be a nutritious food similar to Thriposha that can be provided. Therefore, it is very essential that the Government produce a nutritional food product by a mixture of eggs and sprats which contain a high amount of nutrients, or any other grains as an alternative food which is nutritious.”

Previously, the Sri Lanka Thriposha Ltd. Company Chairman Deepthi Kularathna emphasised that there is no possible way of producing Thriposha for children under three years due to the inability to find suitable maize for production of Thriposha. He also mentioned that the stocks of maize available in the country are not of suitable standard to make Thriposha for children. 

“We are not able to find the maize of required quality within the Sri Lankan markets. There is a situation where maize with fewer aflatoxins is difficult to find in order to produce Thriposha for children,” he said.