PCIERD-DOST (Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development – Department of Science and Technology) has installed here a state-of-the-art satellite facility for shelf testing to cater to food micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) in Mindanao provinces.
Grace Estillore, senior science research specialist of PCIERD-DOST, said that they have installed one of the three satellite testing facilities here to enable MSMEs to test their food products and thus help them to export in the long run.
Scientists in the said regions were trained by Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) on nutrition analysis while training on shelf testing was conducted by the Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI).
The said project is good news for MSMEs for they don’t need now to go to Manila for food testing services. Food analysis will save them the trouble of product recalls brought by food contamination.
Aside from Cagayan de Oro, laboratories as satellite testing facilities for food analysis in Region IV-B for Luzon and Cebu for Visayas are also established.