First successful high lysine corn flour in Filipinos’ favorite pandesal now in a suburban market

The first successful high lysine corn flour mixed in Filipinos’ breakfast favorite pandesal is now in a suburban market.

Everyday more than 1,200 pieces of high lysine Quality Protein Maize (QPM)-enriched pandesal and other assorted varieties of bread are being baked and marketed by BoscEnterprises of the Salesians of Don Bosco. A P1 or P2 per piece pandesal is available. Assorted varieties like Spanish bread or pandecoco are priced from P3 to P5 per piece. These are called Boscbread.

Up to 1,200 pieces are sold within the Don Bosco Habitat Center (DBHC) at Southville 7, Calauan, Laguna, a relocation area for a conglomeration of Ondoy victims and former slum dwellers. The Salesians gives out 400 pieces of QPM-enriched bread for free to indigent children in a daily feeding program. Another 800 pieces of BoscBread pandesal are peddled everyday by selected residents.

“When we first came in the relocation site, children here could not even smile. Now, just after one month of feeding, they have gained as much as two pounds,” said Don Bosco Father Salvador Pablo. The nutrition program is held once daily except Mondays and Tuesdays.

The development of QPM corn flour must be one important malnutrition fighter as malnutrition is one of the country’s biggest struggles. The last 2008 National Nutrition Survey (NNS) of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute indicated that underweight children aged 0-5 affected numbered 3.35 million, an increase of 26.2 percent from the last NNS held every five years.

For aged 6-10, underweight prevalence also rose from 22.8 percent to 25.6 percent, affecting 2.6 million kids.

BoscBread uses the same low glycemic index (GI) white corn ideal for anti-diabetes developed by breeding experts at the Institute of Plant Breeding-University of the Philippines Los Banos (IPB-UPLB).

As any food that needs some getting used to, such as the gourmet Japanese sashimi, corn floured Boscbread went through that also.

"When it was just starting, buyers said that our pandesal had some roughness in texture. But with more finely-milled flour now, the quality got better. The ordinary pandesal shrinks when you press it. But with our Boscbread, you can feel and taste the fullness. Now the DBHC residents are craving for it" said Dodong Tayactac, the Boscbread master baker.

“It was only here in Calauan that I used for the first time corn flour for bread. It’s really just like (wheat) flour now,” said Tayactac, a baker for six years.

Dr. Artemio M. Salazar, IPB deputy director and the high lysine white corn variety breeder said the Philippines can save P5 billion yearly if it can replace wheat flour by just 20 percent. IPB supplies DBHC’s corn flour at around 20 kilos daily to test this product before commercial scale of operations by private sector could commence.

Apparently, the more important benefit is in protein nutrition.
“They have an African term, kwashiorkor that says you lack protein. We have children here who have hair strands streaked in brown. It’s not brown all over that shows kwashiorkor. Without protein you will be brain-impaired, said Pablo.
“In time people here will go brain-impaired because there is no work, light, water, and food. While others feed pork or vegetable for protein enhancement, we give them corn because corn has much more input. Look at how (Manny) Pacquiao punches.”

Tayactac explained his corn flour mix has gone up to higher than the starting 20 percent of the dough part. For other bread types (Spanish, pineapple, or pandecoco bread) which are also used for feeding, corn flour takes up about a third while the filling (pineapple or coconut) also has corn flour dough component.

Although he has not yet tried, Tayactac said he believes corn flour can be used 100 percent in other bread types. Even fine-textured cakes, say chiffon, can take in about 10 percent.

Lysine is an essential amino acid that plays a big role in muscle building and the body’s production of hormones, enzymes, and antibodies. This white corn is also rich in tryptophan, another essential amino acid.

Intake of a 3 piece of 20-gram Boscbread supplies 25 percent of a two-year old child’s daily nutritional requirement out of the required 44-64 milligrams per one kilo of weight. BoscEnterprises intends to immediately expand Boscbread production since it only supplies five percent of the 2,000-family (100,000-200,000 population) in the DBHC.

The program created jobs for two bakery crew and around 10 peddlers, including three youths that need to generate money for education.

For its initial 45-day operation that started on April 15 this year, and in partnership with equipment owner Pan de Pinoy, BoscBread generated gross sales of P126,750; paid commissions of P18,103to peddlers, provided the baking crew with wages of P28,520. With other operating expenses of P25,000, the project had to shell out an extra P5,763 to fully recover all costs.

Despite this, expansion potential in this big relocation community is huge for which BoscEnterprises now seeks a loan and grant for P800,000. Other socio-economic benefits simply cannot be overvalued.

“Peddling is proving to be more of social focus rather than a business one as we work to get more residents to work and get daily income. We give peddlers the highest commissions ever. To maintain viability, we made arrangements with peddlers to compel them to just order the pieces they can confidently sell out,” said BoscBread Project Manager Danny Barlicos.

The target is to sell to at least 10 percent of the community or 200 families.
“We need to sell more the higher priced bread patronized by nutrition programs and consumers from schools and parish communities. Strategic outlet selection should also be made around Laguna as an initial thrust to develop higher sales revenues. SDB affiliated schools and parishes in Laguna would be the prime prospects,” he said.

BoscEnterprises actually seeks support from investors, businessmen, and volunteers for this civic work among the poor. These are its offers for partnership:

1) If you sponsor feeding--nutrition programs, give the children the Hi-Lysine BoscBread. Order from us your requirements.
2) The bakery needs a more permanent site and bigger production capacity. Grant us resources to expand the facility to serve more people in other areas.
3) Refer us baker trainees for future deployment.
4) Invest in a BoscBread franchise to reach out to the other regions in the country and to other relocation sites. Dr. ARtemio M. Salazar, International Plant Breeding, University of the Philippines-Los Banos