Pretoria – South Africans are in for a treat as the new Maggi 2 Minute Noodles with real Morogo will soon be available at their nearest supermarkets.
After extensive research on various indigenous South African edible plants, a new commercial product, known as the Maggi 2 Minute Noodles with real Morogo, has been developed.
The new product is a result of a collaborative research agreement between Nestlé, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Agricultural Research Council (ARC).
The partners researched South Africa’s biodiversity to confirm their health benefits and potential nutraceutical and functional food applications.
The Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, made the breakthrough announcement on Thursday at the 5th CSIR Conference.
“The department is proud of this key milestone where we successfully translated academic research into an innovative commercial product, which will be enjoyed by South African consumers," the Minister said.
Speaking about their role in the partnership, CSIR Group Executive for Strategic Alliances and Communication, Dr Rachel Chikwamba, said: “We provided our expertise in the processing of indigenous products to jointly develop this innovative product with Nestlé that will benefit the people of our country.”
She said working with the ARC, production of the vegetable ingredients will provide an opportunity for small scale farmers and support implementation of the AgriParks model.
“Our partnership with Nestlé is a great example of how public and private institutions can work together to address problems that are facing our country such as unemployment.
“These types of partnerships play a critical role in ensuring that the CSIR and industry support the implementation of the Bio-economy strategy in its objective to have the bio-economy to contribute to the National GDP by 2030,” Chikwamba said.
Ingredients in noodles
Various leafy green vegetables, including Cleome, Cow Pea and Amaranthus (popularly known as Morogo) were screened to assess nutrient bioavailability during digestion.
After conducting thorough research and consumer studies, Amaranthus was ultimately chosen because of its proven health benefits - particularly the presence of Beta Carotene, minerals and protein.
Morogo refers to a group of at least three different dark green leafy vegetables found throughout Southern Africa and harvested for human consumption. – SAnews.gov.za
