5 August 2013 - The Philippine Consulate General in New York reported to the Department that the Philippines, represented by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and nine food companies, recently participated at the International Food Expo held at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Edison, New Jersey from June 27 to 28. DA Regional Executive Director Cipriano Santiago (Regional Field Unit IV-B) led the Philippine delegation.
The Philippines’ inaugural participation at this food expo, which is now on its fourth year, was doubly significant because it was one of the event’s two platinum sponsors. As such, the Philippines was given a big and prominent area of the trade hall. Other Asian countries also participated for the first time.
The annual event attracts supermarket buyers, national brokers, retailers, restaurant owners, and ethic food importers and distributors from USA, Canada and the Caribbean islands.
Philippine Consul General in New York Mario De Leon, Jr., who came to the expo to support the Philippine delegation, welcomed the Philippines’ participation at the event. “The International Food Expo has given our country another opportunity to introduce Philippine food products to the US market. It comes at a time when Filipino cuisines are gaining wider acceptance in the US mainstream. The more available our food ingredients and products are in Northeast USA, the more people will be encouraged to prepare and enjoy our food and cuisines.”
The participating Philippine companies and the products they promoted were the following:
Marigold Manufacturing Corporation - Mama Sita mixes (soup, stews, marinate, stir-fries, spring roll and achuete) and Mama Sita sauces (marinated oyster, top seasoning, all natural vinegar)
Sagrex Foods - Golden frozen saba banana, frozen saba turon with langka (jackfruit), frozen sliced saba banana
Refmad V-Enterprise - Dragon fruit by-products: cookies, wine, vinegar, tea
C.O.P. Pili and Sweets - Pili nuts filled pastry, pili nut with honey, pili nut with garlic and chili, pili nut with salt and pepper
Gracias Foods - All natural fruit snacks, fruit powder, ready-to-cook veggies pack, flavored pastry wrappers
M. Lhuillier Food Products - Tropical dried fruits (dried mango, dried melon, dried coconut, dried pineapple, dried soursop)
Psure, Inc. - Coconut sugar, coconut jam, coconut syrup, coconut flour, coconut chips, virgin coconut oil
The Churner Group - Suchero organic natural sweetener
Raw Brown Sugar Milling - Organic certified muscovado sugar
The Department of Agriculture had its own booth showcasing Philippine-made mango rum liquor and different varieties of Philippine organic rice.
Among the large distributors of Asian food products that expressed interest for distributing the exhibited Philippine food products were: Everlasting Distributors Inc./ Golden Fortune Import & Export Corp., Mon Chong Loong Trading Corporation, Asian Food Markets, Eastland Food Corporation, Asia Etc. and Phil-Am Trading. END