This year?s UCAP annual golf tournament is taking place on Friday, November 20, 2009 at the Sun Valley Golf Club, in Cogeo, Antipolo City, East of Manila. Tee off is set at 6:30 AM. The golf course was designed by Arnold David Palmer, one of the world?s greatest golfers and tagged as one of golf?s ?Big Three? who popularized the sport around the world. The fairways are Tifton 319 and the greens first generation Tiftdwarf. However, what sets the course apart is its location, the hills of Rizal, which present numerous elevation changes, wonderful vistas, natural ponds and waterfalls, among others.

       UCAP is now inviting sponsors for the tournament. First to confirm as Gold Sponsors were Hudson Tank Terminals Corp., Port Newark, New Jersey (Hole no. 18), and Concordia AgriTrading Pte. Ltd., Singapore (Hole no.1); as Silver Sponsors: Bermant Trade Services, San Diego, California (Hole no. 2), CIIF Oil Mills Group, Manila (Hole no. 8). Confirmed donors are: Raco Commodities Philippines, Inc., Dumaguete Coconut Mills, Chemrez Technologies, Inc. A total of 17 golfers have already signed up for the tournament.

       More than 21,000 industry members, including retailers, pioneers and entrepreneurs, as well as journalists, explored more than 1,500 booths to find the leading natural products of tomorrow at Natural Products Expo East/Organic Products Expo-BioFach America held Sept.23-26, 2009, at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

       PepsiCo has announced the acquisition of Brazilian coconut water producer Amacoco Nordeste and Amacoco Sudeste (Amacoco) for an undisclosed amount. The move will increase the soft drink giant?s exposure to the attractive Brazilian soft drinks sector, which is expected to register rapid growth in the near future. It can also be seen as the company?s attempt to diversify into healthier soft drink varieties, with the possibility of PepsiCo now focusing on the coconut water category in other markets, including Europe and North America.

       Amacoco is Brazil?s leading producer of coconut water, making the brand Kero Coco and Trop Coco that together account for majority of packaged coconut water sales. PepsiCo has said it will build on Amacoco?s existing network of independent distribution while utilizing the strength of its local distribution system to expand sales across Brazil, as well as other markets worldwide. The firm also suggested that the combination of Amacoco?s expertise in coconut water with its own brand portfolio and research and development capabilities creates the potential for very exciting product innovation.

       The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) and Julie?s Bakeshop has signed an agreement to come up with a healthy alternative in making bread. George Abando, national sales and marketing manager of Julie?s Bakeshops explained the recent increase in flour prices has encouraged bakeshops to look for alternatives that result in the same quality that flour provides in baking bread. He noted that some bakeshops? strategy to adjust the sizes of their products to make them still affordable to the Filipino consumers have resulted either to more expensive breads of the same size or smaller breads at the same price. The situation led Julie?s and PCA to come up with a coco-based flour to replace the more expensive imported flour.

       Top industry analyst, Dorab Mistry, said an import tax on crude vegetable oils in the new oil year beginning November 2009 seemed inevitable for India. If there is good domestic winter crop, government will have no choice but to impose tax on imports. He added that India?s winter-sown oilseed crop, mostly rapeseed, is usually good when the summer harvest is down. This year, India had the worst monsoon rains in four decades.

       Kraft Foods has become the first company to use plant sterols to low fat cheese in Australia and New Zealand after it won approval from the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to use polytosterol esters derived from tall oil phytoesterol esters as a novel food ingredient in reduced fat cheese. This is also another regulatory first because no tall oil phytosterol esters have been permitted in the Australia New Zealand Food Standard Code.

       An Energy Ministry official in Thailand said the country will soon start field test on B10, a blend of 10% methyl ester with 90% diesel fuel, The Bangkok Post reports. PTT and the ministry?s Department of Energy Business are carrying out the tests, which are expected to finish next year. The goal is to widen the choice of fuels available to motorists and increase the share of alternative fuels in the country?s overall energy use. The ministry expects biodiesel B5 to replace all existing B2 in the domestic market by 2011, but B10 use is not expected to be universal until 2022.

       Manitoba will be implementing a mandate in November 2009 requiring an average 2% biodiesel blend for the entire diesel sold in the province. The average would see the actual biodiesel blends ranging from 5% to 0%, as biodiesel is more prone to freezing during winter. British Columbia will implement its own 5% mandate in January 2010, while Alberta follows with a mandate in July 2010.

       Scientists from the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center report that fat, and palmitic acid in particular, may signal the body?s cells to ignore the appetite-suppressing signals of leptin and insulin. Palmitic acid is a common saturated fatty acid accruing in foods such as butter, cheese, milk and beef. Despite being a study with animals, lead researcher Dr. Deborah Clegg said that the findings strengthen the common dietary recommendation that individuals limit their saturated fat intake. It also strengthens calls for the reformulation of food products to reduce saturated fat content. The findings of Clegg and her co-workers, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, support such calls.