Back-to-back disasters in Luzon since late September not only led to the loss of many lives and destruction of property and infrastructure, but also disruptions in food supply. Power outages resulting from widespread flooding rendered meat, fish and vegetables scarce and beyond the reach of ordinary consumers. But in times of crisis, a new technology developed by a Filipino inventor, Hernie Decena, could assure adequate food supply.

The new technology is called brine-immersion freezing. BIF is described as a “revolutionary method” for preserving aquatic products, meat, fruits and non-leafy vegetables using super-conductive liquid instant freeze. By preventing crystallization, liquid instant freeze preserves the freshness, flavor and texture of food products. With proper processing using BIF, fish and meat can be stored for two to three days in styrofoam boxes without using ice, and up to six months when stored in freezers or chillers. BIF-frozen fish, for instance, will taste as fresh or as good as newly caught fish when grilled or cooked in other ways.

Brine-immersion freezing has many advantages over conventional methods. For one, it takes as little as 3 to 30 minutes, depending on the type, size and volume of the product to be processed, while the air-blast system takes three to four hours.

Another advantage of the new technology is its mobility and easy plug-in feature. A BIF compartment with a wheeled stand is only as big as a chest-type refrigerator or freezer, thus making it easy to transport and move around. The conventional air-blast freezer needs to be permanently put in place and requires large installation works.

The BIF freezer is as easy to use as a microwave oven. Fish, meat, fruits or non-leafy vegetables start to freeze upon reaching the ideal freezing temperature of between minus 30 degrees and minus 40 degrees.

Marginal fisherfolk who depend on ice to preserve their catch stand to benefit from this new technology. Consumers, on the other hand, also benefit because they can buy or purchase two-day-old or three-day-old stored fish and yet are assured that this will taste as fresh as newly caught ones.

BIF freezers can be used as ice-making machines, producing ice equivalent to a load of 3,000 kilos a day in less than two freezing hours per loading of a 10-kilo mini block ice, unlike a conventional block-ice maker that takes 37 hours to freeze a 130-kilo block of ice in an ice plant  that has a capacity of  20 to 60 tons per day.

Instant quick-freeze refrigeration can handle about 500 kilos of products within 20 to 60 minutes, with a power consumption of 500kW/ton, and requires at least 10 people and 150 square meters of space. BIF uses only 120kW/ton to freeze 500 kilos of products in 3 to 15 minutes. And it requires only four people to operate, and 40 square meters of floor space.

BIF uses alcohol, which is a disinfectant, sterilizer and antiseptic solution, as a secondary refrigerant, thus ensuring the safety and cleanness of the frozen items.

BIF’s ultra-low freezing point—minus 30 to minus 40 degrees Celsius—means that no bacteria or microorganisms will survive, thus the taste, aroma and texture of the product stay the same as before freezing.

Decena and his group actually improved upon the Chinese technology of quick freeze to make it a more compact, more cost-effective, user-friendly and multi-functional piece of equipment. And BIF is safe as it has been approved by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and has passed the University of the Philippines Pharmacology and Toxicology test.

BIF will have a positive impact on the country’s food-security program. With BIF, farm produce can be frozen at the source of harvest, and their freshness and quality can be preserved for as long as six months when kept in a freezer at a temperature of minus 18 degrees. Highly perishable products like fish can be transported for 24 to 72 hours without ice. This cutting-edge technology can play a key role in keeping the supply and prices of basic food items stable both for the benefit of consumers and local producers.

It would do well for government to disseminate this superior technology throughout the country. With precious farm produce remaining fit for human consumption even after long periods of storage, farmers, agribusiness entrepreneurs and consumers all benefit, especially in emergency situations caused by natural calamities.

Taiwan helps RP typhoon victims

Typhoon Morakot caused massive destruction in Taiwan last August. But even as the Taiwan government was kept busy undertaking reconstruction work in the following weeks—it decided to even suspend celebration of its National Day on October 10—it immediately donated $50,000 to our Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) when it learned of the destruction wrought by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. Later, the Embassy of the Republic of China in Rome donated an additional €10,000 for the DSWD’s relief operations.

The Taiwanese also assisted displaced typhoon victims in the evacuation centers and those still submerged in floodwaters by sending two medical missions—the Taiwanroot Medical Mission and the Taiwan International Health Action. Aside from providing free treatment and medicines, the Taiwan Root Medical Mission also donated 200 tons of rice. The Taiwan Association in the Philippines organized a medical mission that provided medical, dental and optical treatments to about 5,200 patients at the Parañaque National High School.

The Taiwan government also dispatched two planeloads of assorted relief goods, which were immediately turned over to the DSWD for distribution to the typhoon victims.

Taiwan had also sent a team to assist in rescue efforts in Guinsaugon, Southern Leyte, after a massive landslide killed hundreds of residents, including schoolchildren, not too long ago.

Taiwan, our nearest neighbor to the north, has been active in providing humanitarian assistance worldwide through medical missions and relief operations. Apart from this, it is also active in extending technical assistance and sharing its experience in economic construction with developing countries throughout the world.

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