THE exotic Ilocos Norte Black Garlic (INBG) has made its debut at the country’s biggest food trade show held May 19 at the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) in Pasay City.

Dr. Shirley Agrupis, program leader of MMSU’s black garlic production project, also shared the research and development efforts on the INBG using the technology adopted from Japan and South Korea in a free seminar held at the PTTC.

The lecture was part of a series of seminars conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Management Association of the Philippines-AgriBusiness and Countryside Development Foundation (MAP-ABCDF) on the latest food trends and innovations with leading agribusiness experts at the International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Philippines.

IFEX Philippines is the country’s biggest international trade exhibition on the Philippines’ and Asia's ethnic and specialty food, tropical fruits, vegetables, seafood, beverages, bakery and confectionery products, meat and poultry, Halal-certified products, as well as natural, organic, and healthy food products.

Since its inception, originally as the Asian Ethnic Food Festival from 1999 to 2003, IFEX Philippines has provided a business-to-business platform for local and international food companies to discover new markets, launch new products, and transact with the world’s biggest buyers.

The DTI’s Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) tied up with MAP-ABCDF, a leading non-government organization in agribusiness and countryside development that provides access to innovation, entrepreneurship, management services and leading edge technologies through its network of movers and shakers in the Philippine agricultural sector.

It was the CITEM which invited Dr. Agrupis and the other leading researchers and educators in the country to conduct food-related discussions at PTTC.

In her talk, Dr. Agrupis discussed the processing of INBG, which is a delicious and exotic product from fresh garlic and is a sought-after food supplement. Black garlic is also an ingredient of expensive culinary recipes in Japan and other countries.

The product is an aged white garlic that is produced from the perfect mixture of heat and humidity for about 30 days without any additional treatments and additives. Black gralic is sweet with hints of balsamic vinegar or tamarind, but does not have the strong offensive flavor of the original fresh garlic. Its antioxidants are 17 times higher and its amount of free amino acid is also 1.5 times richer than fresh garlic. (By Reynaldo E. Andres)