At the National Food Fair

 Over the weekend, I went to the DTI sponsored food fair held at SM Megamall (August 21-25). What I noticed was the improved packaging of many local products and I was glad about it. Exhibit participants I talked to gratefully acknowledged the help they received from government for the improvement of their product/s as well as in marketing them.

I hope this collaboration continues and deepens. For the local products on display, there is still a long way to go and there is still much room for improvement. They should go for excellence and not just for passable quality (basta hindi nakakalason, ok na).

One example is the uraro cookies. Although it was packaged decently and seems to be enticing enough, there is still the problem of contaminated raw materials that sometimes give the cookies a very bad moldy taste. In fact the sample cookies I tried slightly had that unsavory taste. I talked to the stall holder about it and she admitted that they occasionally have that problem but which she tries to avoid by ensuring good preparation practices. Still the problem persists. Maybe the DOST  or our local food scientists can try to help solve this problem.

Some food finds for me:
- pure cocoa tablea from Agusan and Davao
- mango tamarind candy from Taguig
- honey dalandan concentrate product
- suman in banana leaf pouch from Pasig
- dried fish from Bicol region, specially the "newlook" fish

I wish I can list more but these are all that I found notable. Next time I hope I can list more. Our food resource and potential wealth is so vast that this food fair is but a scratch on the surface.

 Before leaving I tried out an alcoholic beverage made from coconut water. It tasted like vinegar and gave me a slight head ache. I don't know what other people who tasted this drink thought but as for me I don't think that I will ever part with my money for this.

Some food ideas and wishful thinking:
- herbal and flower teas made from hibiscus, blue pea, lemon grass, guava tips
- sports/hydration drink made from coconut sugar
- instant soups made from local vegetables and resources
- sweetened pure tablea candy
- local fruit lokums and fruit pastes
- new pili nut treats
- bottled palm sugar syrup for cooking
- local pure sesame oil
- fresh frozen marine products especially from the ARMM
- improved variety of Philippine raspberry from Quezon
-healthy breakfast/snack instant beverage
-new local cheese varieties