Canton noodles enriched with saluyot, squash

ZARRAGA, Iloilo – Mention "saluyot" (jute) and what instantaneously comes to mind are Ilocanos, who are popularly known as consumers of this vitamin A-rich vegetable.

But did you know that Iloilo can also be considered "saluyot country"?

Yes, "saluyot" ("tagabang" to Ilonggos) is one of the backyard vegetables being commonly grown in this province, attested Department of Science and Technology (DOST) – Region 6 director Zinnia Teruel.

In fact, "saluyot" and squash are two food crops being used in enriching canton noodles now being commercialized here.

One DOST-assisted, family-owned company, Cleafar Agribusiness, Inc., is now producing squash canton noodles at an initial production capacity of 450 packs a day. The firm’s "saluyot" canton noodles are also going through test-production.

The firm owners, Rafael Pama (an Ilonggo) and his wife, Caridad Bugayong Pama (an Ilocana from Asingan, Pangasinan), talked of the prospects of their new business venture at a recent visit to their farms by DOST officials headed by Secretary Estrella F. Alabastro and members of the national and Iloilo media (including this writer).

The visit formed part of a two-day (Jan. 29-30) "DOST Technology Transfer Roadshow", which kicked off a nationwide, year-long activity that will highlight the government’s, particularly DOST’s, science and technology interventions to help micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises (MSME) and thus generate employment for Filipinos.

Cleafar is an integrated farming business engaged in feed milling, layer and livestock production, and meat processing.

It started producing noodles at its Zarraga plant in 1999 to utilize the waste eggs from its layer production business.

DOST, through DOST-Region 6 and the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), provided the technology, information, and on-site training for the manufacture of squash and saluyot canton noodles.

And the product’s palatability?

"Masarap" was the verdict of the DOST officials and mediapersons who were served the enriched noodles. – Rudy A. Fernandez