Pinoy scientists upbeat on muscovado

Filipino scientists are seeking ways for muscovado to breach the international market for health sugar.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has developed a guidebook that aims to improve the quality of muscovado or brown sugar to meet specific standards of foreign markets.

The DOST said muscovado is pure, whole, unrefined, and non-centrifugal cane sugar that retains all of the natural minerals of sugarcane.

Two DOST attached agencies, the Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development (PCIERD) and the Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) recently spearheaded the development of the guidebook to improve the production of muscovado sugar.

This includes the application of two important food safety practices – GMP (good manufacturing practices) and HACCP (hazard critical control points).

The DOST said muscovado has been identified in the 2005-2010 Philippine Export Development Plan as one of the priority export products due to increasing demand of this health sugar in the European Union and Japan.

However, most of muscovado manufacturers have yet to pass the strict requirements of the international market, the DOST added.

Markets for muscovado in Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, United States and the European Union require sugar to be golden brown to dark brown in color, moisture content should range from 1.5 percent to 3.5 percent, and should be certified organic (with organic certificate).

The shelf life should be from nine months if stored at a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius and 12-48 months on 20 degrees Celsius.

The guidebook presents the step-by-step methods to get the optimum benefits in muscovado production. 

The sugarcane must be cut at the base and those that were mill-harvested should be milled within 16 hours to minimize souring.

The DOST said a recent assessment of muscovado mills in Antique and Tarlac found that mills need more technology intervention, particularly in standardizing the process and for a  cleaner production process.

“Lack of standards result to problems in moisture content, insolubles, microbial load and inconsistency of color,” the DOST said.

Antique and Tarlac produce most of the country’s muscovado, the DOST added.

In another assessment of upgraded muscovado mills in Tarlac, it was found that the facility still lacked the necessary standards for operating parameters. 

Muscovado has 187 grams of calcium, 58 grams of phosphorous, 4.8 grams of iron, 757 grams of potassium and 97 grams of sodium making it a wholesome and healthy food sweetener.

White sugar, on the other hand, is pure carbohydrate and 99.5-percent sucrose.

“It is stripped of all its natural components like water, minerals and vitamins as it goes through several stages of processing,” the DOST said.

In 2003, out of a total muscovado production of 5.4 million kilos, the Philippines exported only 481,000 kilos or only 8.9 percent, due to poor quality or competitiveness in the international market.  – Helen Flores