We Will Be There

From www.ifexphilipines.com


The upcoming International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Philippines show in 16-18 May promises a sumptuous and interesting selection of food products from the Philippines’ seventh region. Also known as the Central Visayas and the highlight of this year’s Partner Region Program (PRP), Region 7 includes Bohol, Negros Oriental, Siquijor, and Cebu.

Primarily promoted as prime tourist destinations, these provinces are distinguished, too, for their grand culinary traditions. It offers a plethora of special delicacies and sumptuous desserts made from the wealth of fresh ingredients. All are delightful discoveries: deliciously exotic food for the ethnic epicure, and a novel find for the global market searching for new savory fare.

Because Central Visayas was among the strongholds of Spain during the colonization more than four centuries ago, it is no wonder that some of Europe’s heritage cookies are produced here more than anywhere else.

For this year’s PRP, Cebu - the Queen City of the South - offers tempting bites such as broas (lady fingers; other varieties include peanuts, cashew, and pili in their ingredients); butter scotch, mamon tostado (toasted chiffon cake), and ‘diet’ chocolates. God’s little paradise, Bohol, presents tajada (also known as biscocho, or baked bread topped with butter and sugar, or in some cases with garlic), herbal teas and spreads, salabat (ginger teas), and ginger-flavored candies.

The city of gentle people, Negros Oriental, on the other hand, offers jam squares and rich, healthfully filling fruit bars while Siquijor, the mystic island, boasts of banana fries and tortalitas – small muffin like version of the famous torta.

Ethnic food delights
But more than the traditional treats, it is also in Region 7 where you can find signature Filipino foods. Guinamos (fermented fish), caycay (peanut-coated biscuits), kalamay (in ube and traditional flavors) and ube abound in the area. Baye-baye (similar to Southern Tagalog’s espasol, made from glutinous rice, pilit, and shredded young coconut strips), Tanjay’s famous budbud (a version of glutinous rice), and bud-bod kabog (millet) are also some of the provinces’ exotic foods that are substantially nutritious, and favorite pasalubong items of tourists and locals alike.

Food innovations include oatmeal cookies with mango chips and chewy fruit bars that consist of popped rice (some make it more delectable by using pinipig, toasted green glutinous rice), nuts, and dried mangoes and papayas. They are indigenized food, or examples of foreign food, which was Filipinized by tweaking the preparation through the use of available local ingredients.

Region 7’s delicacies in IFEX’s Partner Region Program
More than ethnic food products, IFEX’s Partner Region Program Setting will also underscore the significant developments introduced and adapted by the wide selection of food products from Central Visayas. These include new packaging designs, improvements on manufacturing processes, and product innovation systems. Adherence of Region 7’s industry players to strategies like these continues to emphasize the commitment to mandatory requirements needed in the international food market. One example concerns product labels. Foods made and sold in the area reflect allergens and trans-fat information on their product labels. This practice puts weight on food safety and quality – two major issues that are significant to concerned, label-conscious consumers.

An initiative of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) launched in 1999, the Partner Region Program is aimed to assist the country’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in food packaging, systems development, and product promotion. It is held in collaboration with relevant government agencies and the private sector, it highlights the best foods from a chosen region.

Since it began, the PRP Program has assisted 160 companies from the regions of Central Luzon, Western Visayas, Southern Mindanao, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, CARAGA, and Bicol.

The Partner Region Program featuring Central Visayas’ food products will be showcased in the International Food Exhibit (IFEX) Philippines on 16-18 May 2008 at the SMX Convention Center located within the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City, Metro Manila. Admission fee is Php100.

For details, call Chief Jose Mulato of the IFEX Secretariat-Agrimarine Division at (63 2) 831 1282 exts. 204 and 238, or you may log on to www.ifexphilippines.com.