Capiz pickled vegetables, fruits gain foothold in US

ROXAS CITY – Pickled vegetables and fruits produced by a DOST-assisted firm here are fast gaining foothold in the United States.

The pickled mango, coconut pith (ubod), bamboo shoots (labong), and bitter gourd (ampalaya) are being produced by Mother’s Blessing, Inc. here.

The products find their way to Filipino homes in California through Seafood City, a chain of stores in San Diego and Los Angeles.

The business venture was conceptualized to met the pickled fruits and vegetables requirements of the Filipino community in the US.

Its raw material requirements come from the 32-hectare mango and vegetable plantation at Barangay Dinginan, Roxas City, Mother’s Blessing, Inc. president/CEO Teresa Hontiveros Almalbis told the DOST officials and journalists who composed the "Technology Transfer Roadshow" that visited Iloilo, Capiz, and Aklan last Jan. 29-30.

Almabis, a former councilor of Roxas City, and her cousin-business partner Debrah Fuentes told the group that the idea of such a business venture crystallized when Mrs. Almalbis sent a present ("pasalubong") of pickled mango in March last year to her brother, Jose Hontiveros, Seafood City manager.

The pickles tasted good to Hontiveros, who broached the idea of a pickled fruits/vegetables venture.

With the assistance of DOST-Region 6 headed by Director Zinnia Teruel, technical training was provided for Mother’s Blessing, Inc. on basic vegetable/fruit pickles production, and technical assistance and improvement of product quality, product design, and labeling.

Other government agencies that assisted were the DOST-Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI), DOST-Provincial Science and Technology Center (PSTC), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).

A DOST report stated that Mother’s Blessing, Inc.’s current production capacity is 22,000 bottles per month. Plans are also afoot for the marketing of the products in selected supermarkets in the country. – Rudy A. Fernandez