“These new products should not be kept in the cabinets of the research laboratories but should find its perfect technology adopters.”
This is according to Dr. Zorayda Ang, project leader and deputy director at the Department of Science and Technology- Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI).
She said these products were the streamlined concepts showing market potential, technical feasibility, and business soundness based on the rigor of market study and technical tests in the marketing training program they conducted.
With the emerging consumer need for healthier, tasty, nutritious, and convenient food options, given the lifestyle and health concerns of Filipinos across ages nowadays, the government through the DOST Food Innovation Centers have developed food technologies which the Filipinos in the food business can acquire and make use of through technology transfer and licensing.
The 31 new food innovations will be market launch at InnovEats, Food Ideas & Creations on 25 June 2022. The new food technologies and products were developed and market-tested by the Filipino researchers lodged in universities across the country, in partnership with the DOST Food Innovation Centers.
The most innovative product, in terms of having the highest technical innovations in food science and technology, as well as market attractiveness among businesses, will also be announced during the event at the UP Town Center Phase 2 Activity Center in Quezon City.
The 31 food innovations are outputs in a year-long training program of the DOST Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) entitled “Developing Food Innovation Center Competency in Moving New Products from Concepts to Market Launch” funded by the DOST Grants-In-Aid and monitored by the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD). The project is informally known as “FIC Marketing Academy”.
Some of the products at InnovEats, which are also intended to resolve the oversupply issues of many farmers in different regions nationwide, are open for technology transfer. These are Northern Luzon’s products such as chichamatis (tomato crisps from Cagayan State University), tomango (tomato–mango juice); pinindot-to-go (ready-to-eat bilo-bilo), colored sweet potato flour, powdered instant soy milk tea from UP Los Baños from Southern Luzon; Smoked coconut milk powder from Bicol University; and ginger puree from Cebu Institute of Technology from Bicol and Visayas region; Soymilk with corn grits, wombok powder, tomato-pineapple powder from University of Science and Technology of the Southern Philippines; Pickled seaweed, crab sauce powder, and calamansi-lagundi powder from Zamboanga State College of Marine Science and Technology’s; Tuna congee, mixed fruit chips from Philippine Women’s College Davao’s; and Chevon sausage of Sultan Kudarat State University.
Parties interested to adopt any of these new food innovations may contact the DOST Food Innovation Center through Ms. Ma. Dolor Villaseñor (officer-in-charge of the Food Processing Division) at 8837-2071 loc 2187 or through fpd@itdi.dost.gov.ph or Ms. Nora Garcia, Regional Food Innovation Center focal person through email address: nonggarcia@yahoo.com and cc jaymarkpinto.dost@gmail.com. (Geraldine Bulaon-Ducusin, DOST-STII)
