I am not familiar with the taste of Sagada orange but it must be quite good. The citrus is apparently very popular with consumers that, as is usually the case in this country, merchants are taking advantage of this popularity and passing off every fruit as “Sagada orange.”
Sister Mary Teresita Ante, RGS, of the Good Shepherd Convent in Baguio City said vendors all over the “former” (I say former because I see fewer and fewer pine trees every time I am there) City of Pines—“outside the gate of the Good Shepherd Convent, Mines View market, Wright Park, Mansion House, public market”—claimed what they were selling were Sagada oranges.
“This is far from the truth. These oranges are imported from China!” the nun wrote. She said, even in Divisoria, where vendors get their oranges, the fruits were also labeled as Sagada.
Calling the misnomer “unethical,” she said Baguio’s Midland Courier newspaper had called Sagada oranges and apples “Mislabeled of the Year.”
Now I can see if consumers find it easy to believe that the oranges come from Sagada but apples? If Filipinos are now growing apples that is an agricultural breakthrough deserving of banner stories.
To help consumers distinguish Sagada from other citrus fruits, Ante offered this description: “The original Sagada oranges have tighter skin, thinner rind, less bright orange in color, have fresh leaves and are more expensive than the ones imported from China.”
She ended her letter with an appeal to the Department of Trade and Industry to protect consumers by putting a stop to this mislabeling and misrepresentation.
Wrappers you can plant
For the truly committed environmentalist, a new wrapping paper introduced in the United Kingdom may prove to be more valuable than the gift it contains.
A story posted on Mother Nature Network said British “innovation agency” BEAF “has unveiled Eden Paper, a line of “100-percent plantable” gift wrap with vibrant veggie prints that are meant to be returned to the Earth instead of tossed in the rubbish bin.”
Basically, each wrapper is embedded with seeds of various vegetables—right now carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, chili peppers and onions are available. But it does not smell like the vegetable it carries so no need to fear your gift will smell like onions.
The discarded paper can be planted in soil and watered, like any plant.
Confident women
Tupperware Brands’ honored recently the latest recipients of its Women of Confidence award. The 2013 awardees were community leader Remedios Baclea-an, Hotel and Restaurant Management and Tourism graduate Dolores Ilagan, lawyer Jannell Gerodiaz, and mothers Maria Ana Castro and Mary Jane Martirez.
As a World Vision volunteer and community leader, Baclea-an demonstrated to other women that they had the power to make a difference. She showed the women that they had the intellectual and social capabilities to contribute to their communities.
Ilagan overcame various crises in life to graduate with the highest academic awards at age. Gerodiaz said every woman had the capacity to change lives.
Castro, a widow, endured years of separation from her children until she was financially capable of getting them back from the care of her parents. A mother of two, single parent Martirez became a working student in 2009. She successfully juggled her responsibilities as mother, father, student and career woman.
By believing in the transformative power of women through its annual Women of Confidence Search, Tupperware is showing women that they can earn distinction not just for their physical attributes but for what they can do, too.
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