RP's first book on food bio-processing launched

MANILA, Philippines - Dr. Priscilla Chinte-Sanchez, retired professor of food science and technology at UP Los Baños and one of one of the UP Alumni Association Centennial Outstanding Alumni Awardees, launched recently her book Fermented Foods: Principles and Technology during the convention of the Philippine Society for Microbiology Inc. (PSMI). 

Published by the UP Press, the book is the first consolidated information on food bio-processing in the country. It discusses the fermentation process from its beginnings as an ancient art to its development into several applications as a result of new knowledge form researches all over the world. 

It is organized into six sections that cover 19 chapters on fermentation principles and local technologies for the manufacture of fermented foods in the Philippines.

Its approach provides the reader an adequate introduction to the different fermented products, the principles underlying the techniques, the essential microorganisms involved, and how their interactions produce the needed type of reactions.

Standards, regulations, and laws promulgated for the proper monitoring of fermented foods to ensure their safety are also discussed. 

The comprehensive data presented on ethnic foods are not found elsewhere, making it an indispensable resource for scientists, food technologists, students, teachers, as well as the food industry. 

Chinte-Sanchez currently chairs the Biological Sciences Division of National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP).

She did pioneering research in traditional Filipino fermented foods as well as contributed to the advancement of knowledge in the quality control aspects of various food products and in microbial diversity in the Philippines.

Credited to her are 24 technologies, many of which have been adopted by the food industry. 

Chinte-Sanchez said during the launch that the book was the culmination of 25 years of research.

“What inspired me to consolidate information on food fermentation in the country is the obvious need to have a useful reference for scientists, food technologists, students, teachers, and those who work in our food industry. To prepare for this… photographs of the traditional processes and interviews of the producers in the rural areas all over the country were compiled over the years,” she said. 

Chinte-Sanchez acknowledged the financial support of the Textbook Writing Grant under the Creative and Research Scholarship Fund of the UP System.

For making the launch possible, she also thanked the UP Press, PSMI (of which she is a charter member), and the Philippine Academy of Microbiology (to which she was elected Fellow).