BAGUIO CITY -- What is now President Macapagal-Arroyo’s flagship program to counter malnutrition in the country began in the kitchen of couple Manuel and Melinda Flores on Naguilian Road here.

“Our grandchildren would refuse to eat their vegetables,” says Manuel Flores. “We just wanted to feed them something healthy.”

Thus began a family enterprise that has grown into a sustainable business venture.

Through the suggestion of one of their daughters, who works as a nutrition officer in Marinduque, and with the help of technical experts of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST), the Flores couple began experimenting with squash noodles in November 2007.

Their initial capital of P250,000 for the venture ballooned to P1.3 million when they spent for the construction of a small factory. They also bought a kneading machine, slicer, grinder, mixer and stoves to pursue their little experiment.

Little did they dream that their desire to feed their grandchildren meals that are nutritious and light on the palate would soon give birth to Quality Food Enterprises (QF Enterprises).

Experiments to perfect their squash noodles went on until January this year, with production remaining small at 5 kilograms a day.

Production was just enough for the family’s consumption. The leftovers were given away to friends as a way to promote their product.

New flavors

Today, their little project has grown to include four new flavors under the brand name “Baguio Veggie Noodles.” The noodles are prepared in a small but clean work area that has six stoves where seven family members work.

Aside from squash noodles, the family now manufactures noodles made from malunggay, broccoli, carrot and mushroom.

Their bestseller is the malunggay-fortified noodles, where about 30 kg are sold daily, says Melinda Flores.

Mass production of their noodles began in February. The family now produces an average of two to three sacks a day, each sack containing 25 kg of veggie noodles. And when orders come in bulk, the family produces five sacks a day in three work shifts. On such occasions, the family hires three cooks and a kneader.

QF Enterprises supplies the Baguio Association of Retired Persons (BARP), which orders between 80 and 200 packs a week, and the Benguet State University (BSU) in La Trinidad, Benguet.

Each 200-gram pack is sold at P30 (wholesale price) and P35 (retail price). Each pack, Flores says, costs around P27 to make.

Their factory also provides vegetable noodles for the feeding programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in La Union.

QF Enterprises has tapped distributors in Cavite, Pangasinan, Dagupan, Urdaneta and Metro Manila. Some of its products have found their way to the United States as some of their clients bought packs to bring as pasalubong (gifts) to relatives there.

Melinda says they do not use preservatives, MSG (monosodium glutamate) or food coloring in their products.

“We also do not add water anymore because the juice from the vegetables is enough to make our dough,” she says.

Their noodles, she says, are made only from vegetable puree, flour, eggs and salt.

Hunger mitigation

A study conducted by the DOST showed that the squash noodles produced by QF Enterprises are rich in Vitamins A and C, calcium and iron, and contain adequate amounts of dietary fiber and protein.

Earlier this year, Ms Arroyo released P10 million to fund research on vegetable noodles and the establishment of a food processing center at BSU.

Ben Ladilad, DOST Cordillera director, says the agency has assisted three entrepreneurs interested in producing vegetable noodles. Nine other similar projects are ongoing in various parts of the region.

The formal launching of the squash noodles was initially set on July 30, but this was moved to September to accommodate Ms Arroyo’s schedule.

During the launch, at least 30,000 packs of squash noodles will be turned over to the government’s “Tindahan Natin” outlets, where they will be sold at P35 a pack under the brand name “Proud Harvest.”

Flores says BSU officials have asked QF Enterprises to provide vegetable noodles for the event as BSU is still developing its own squash noodles.

Ladilad says other noodles that BSU will develop will be sold under the label “Highland Products.” He says manufacturers in Nueva Ecija, Abra, Ilocos Sur and Mt. Province have also started producing squash noodles.

Melinda Flores says QF Enterprises is experimenting on new flavors like pepper, sweet potato and spinach. She expects the new flavors to hit the market in November.

“We will still have to see if there is a ready supply of these vegetables,” she says.

Melinda says only one farmer has committed to supply them with spinach grown on a one-hectare farm.

They are also experimenting on combining different flavors to make the noodles more nutritious, she says.

Marjorie Lomahan, a daughter of the Flores couple, says there are many ways to prepare vegetable noodles.

“All it takes is creativity … It can be prepared as pancit (stir-fried noodles) and soup,” Lomahan says.

Since the noodles are pre-cooked (boiled and deep fried), they are also ideal for instant noodles, like those sold in supermarkets, she says.

“A seven-month-old baby can eat it,” she says, demonstrating the fact by giving her seven-month-old nephew a noodle string to nibble on.

Lomahan says they want to repackage short noodles, which ordinarily end up as scrap, into snack items. But packaging them will require an investment of at least P140,000.

“Not only do our grandchildren eat healthy now, they actually prefer the noodles as snack,” says Melinda. “One of them can finish a whole pack in one afternoon.”