The ready-to-eat (RTE) arroz caldo developed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has passed the tastebuds of the agency’s top food critic, DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña himself.
De la Peña admitted that he never had the chance to taste the RTE arroz caldo developed by the DOST’s Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) until when he had it for an afternoon snack recently.
“I have to confess, we have been promoting RTE arroz caldo but I have not tasted it,” he said during an virtual event celebrating the 11th anniversary of the DOST’s Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) on Tuesday, June 29.
The DOST chief shared that he requested ITDI on Monday, June 28, to send him packs of RTE arroz caldo, and ate it during his afternoon snack.
“It tastes so good. Ngayon ko lang siya natikman (I just tried it),” de la Peña said.
“Ginawa ko, nagpakulo ako ng tubig, inilubog ko yung RTE na nakabalot pa at tsaka ko binuksan, nilagyan ko ng patis at kalamansi. Perfect! Napakasarap (What I did is I boiled water, I dipped the RTE that was still wrapped and then I opened it, I added fish sauce and calamansi. Perfect! It's so delicious),” he added.
After tasting the RTE arroz caldo, de la Peña shared that he took photos of the food products and sent them to his friends. But he lamented that they have no knowledge that such products exists.
“I was surprised, walang nakaka-alam sa kanila,” he said, adding that he suggested that the DOST should hold a forum focusing on the promotion of RTE food products developed by the agency and its partners.
Developed in 2014, the RTE arroz caldo is one of the home-grown technologies developed by the DOST-ITDI under the “Pack of Hope” project to provide sustenance to victims of calamities and disasters in the country.
Last June 25, de la Peña announced that the DOST-ITDI developed an RTE chicken soup under its “Pack of Hope” brand that would provide the food and nutrition needs of those in the vulnerable sectors in times of disasters and calamities.
“The Packaging Technology Division (PTD) of DOST-Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) implements a project on the development of three disaster relief foods for vulnerable group (elderly and children), developing RTE chicken corn soup,” he said.
“Under the brand name ‘Pack of Hope,’ the RTE chicken corn soup as a relief food has a homogenous consistency suited for the elderly and children who could not chew solid foods,” he added.