PH pili nuts bag top prize in French food competition

The Philippines has been testing the “acceptability of pili nuts” among some of the top pastry chefs and culinary institutions in the southern part of France, according to Jean Luc Sini, public relations consultant for the Mount Mayon Volcanic Pili Nuts, and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center, the Commercial Section of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Paris. (PNA photo)

MANILA— The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday announced that Philippine food brand “Mount Mayon Volcanic Pili Nuts” bagged the top prize in a French food snack competition held at the Porte de Versailles on April 4.

The Filipino brand bested two competitors for the “dry savory impulse products – self-service ready-to-eat products category,” during the Le Snacking D’Or 2018.

The Philippines has been testing the “acceptability of pili nuts” among some of the top pastry chefs and culinary institutions in the southern part of France, according to Jean Luc Sini, public relations consultant for the Mount Mayon Volcanic Pili Nuts, and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center, the Commercial Section of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Paris.

The feedback has been “overwhelming”, he noted.

“The award further confirms that the pili nut has vast potential in the discriminating palate of the French market,” he added.

Sini said that the Mount Mayon brand, which is processed in a facility in the eastern part of the Philippines in Subic, may have also caught the attention of the voters because it is halal, kosher, vegan certified and non-GMO verified.

Les Snacking d’Or, an annual competition held in France, awards top food products from the world in the last three years.

The DFA said that only the top three entries made it for the final round of voting for the its “Produit d’impulsion secs sales” or the dried salted snacking category.