A nutritious noodle made from bangus scrap and seaweed

MANILA, Philippines - Enriched noodles can be produced from scraps of milkfish and Gracilaria seaweed.

This product has been developed by Aurora Afalla, a researcher of the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU), a multi-campus school in La Union whose main campus is in Barangay Sapilang, Bacnotan.

The technology won first prize in the Aquatic Technology Competition and Marketplace (ATCOM), an annual activity that awards outstanding technologies for their significant contribution to the country’s aquatic and marine industry and to the national economy as a whole.

Afalla prepared noodles from Gracilaria seaweed, milkfish scrap powder, flour and salt. The technology is best suited for regions such as the Ilocos and Cagayan Valley where Gracilaria seaweed is abundant. Also, bangus scraps (bones or tinik which are washed, pressure-cooked, sundried, and pulverized) are readily available in areas where milkfish deboning is a big industry.

“No sophisticated equipment is needed to produce the noodles,” Afalla said.

She said that Gracilaria and milkfish bones are rich in nutrients and minerals needed by the body. Seaweed is also a source of agar, a gelatinous extract used as gelling and stabilizing agent in foods.

“Enriched noodles are cheap and nutritious,” Afalla said.

These seaweed-based products can help address malnutrition problems in coastal communities and can serve as source of livelihood for unemployed women and out-of-school youths. These groups can be organized to engage in small-scale production and marketing of enriched canton noodles, thus, they can earn additional income and eventually improve the quality of their lives.

In fact, the technology has been adopted by groups of women in coastal areas in Sto. Tomas, La Union; Sto.Domingo, Ilocos Sur; and Buguey, Cagayan.

Each group has been producing 250 kilos of nutri-enriched noodles per month. The women's group sell most of their produce to local residents and in provincial and regional trade fairs and exhibits.       – Rudy A. Fernandez