Super Fruit Treats For A Healthy Lifestyle

April 19, 2010 - PRLog -- With every nook and cranny of the islands offering its own sweet treats or delicacies, the country has taken its route from prime tourist destination to a potential source of not just tempting and appealing food items and delicacies but also food selections that keep up with the increasing consciousness for a healthy lifestyle.

Continually bringing the flavors of Philippine fruits to distant shores is Orient Foods, the country’s pioneer in tropical fruit dehydration of papayas, mangoes, pineapples, and jackfruits. With almost three decades in operation, they have successfully penetrated the export market, shipping their products to Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and USA. Today, Orient Foods developed the Chewy Fruit Bars that are made from rich and nutritious fruit flavors that come in snack bars, making it perfect healthy snacks for active and hardworking people on the go.

“We are always on the look out for what’s on demand in the market. And since people are now getting conscious with their health but don’t want to sacrifice their eating habits, we developed the chewy fruit bar for healthy snacking,” said Mae Magdamo, Sales and Marketing Manager of Orient Food Industries.

Made of a dried fruit mix of papaya, pineapple, mango, oatmeal, and puffed rice, the chewy fruit bar makes for an ideal health snack that can be considered a viable alternative to the famous granola bar. With its innovation, distinct look, creative packaging, as well as its adaptation to consumers’ lifestyles, the product has bagged the 2008 first place in the Trendy Awards of the International Food Exhibiton (IFEX) Philippines.

Aside from the tasty Chewy Fruit Bars offered by Orient Foods, various food companies like FruitGems Agricultural Corporation located in Agusan del Norte, started offering fruit snacks that also satisfy one’s healthy and active lifestyle.

Inspired by Mindanao’s stable climate, fertile lands, and market acceptability of the tasty dried fruits in the local and international scenes, FruitGems ventured into dehydrated fruits and supply of fresh and processed fruits such as mangoes, papaya, bananas, and pineapples that also promote healthy snacking.

With the increasing demand for fresh and processed fruits, FruitGems has expanded its facilities to include the processing of purees, juices, jams, and jellies from fruits. These innovations have given the company the capability of creating varied products that meet global demands.

“Nowadays, buyers are not just up for the price and the taste of the food or snacks you offer. They also check if these products are healthy. For us to be able to meet the global demand, we expanded in producing more processed fruits that are not just appetizing but are good for health,” said Jay Pantangco, president of FruitGems Agricultural Corporation.

These two companies along with other exciting homegrown food innovations from different regions of the country had their early beginnings at the Partner Region Program (PRP) of the International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Philippines, an annual food trade show led by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry.

This year, the two companies will introduce their healthy fruit snacks in the international market though the Best of the Partner Region Program (BPRP). The BPRP is a component of the IFEX Philippines, which aims to provide a higher level of enhancing the quality, product acceptability, and marketability of select food and beverage products of previous partner regions participants.

“The partner region program has opened opportunities for us. Through this program, we had the chance to meet new clients both local and international,” said Katherine Gay Vinarao, R&D Manager of Orient Food Industries. “Because of our Chewy Fruit Bar’s success, we will be included in the BPRP which will surely help a lot in promoting our products.”

This year, join this gastronomic journey of Philippine food from the regions as the 7th edition of IFEX Philippines features the best products from five regions. Local gastronomic finds from Regions IV-A (Calabarzon), V (Bicol), VII (Central Visayas), X (Northern Mindanao), and XIII (Caraga) will be showcased at the Best of PRP pavilion scheduled on May 6-8 at the World Trade Center Metro Manila.

For more information on IFEX Philippines, visit www.ifexphilippines.com.

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The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) is an export promotions arm of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry.