As announced last week, the tournament will take place at the SUMMIT POINT GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB in Lipa City, Batangas, south of Manila, less than two hours drive from Ortigas Center. It will be held on Friday, November 20, 2009. Tee off starts at 6:30 AM after the ceremonial tee off. As of today, 39 golfers have confirmed their participation.

       Apart from the trophies to be won by the top golfers in each class and fun holes winners, each participant will take home loot bags from International Oil Factory, San Pablo Manufacturing Corporation, Limketkai Manufacturing, and Oleo Fats. As in past events, door prizes will be raffled off as well. An added feature in this year?s edition of the tournament will be an entertainer courtesy of Ronnie Rodil of Transeaboard Shipping Services Philippines, Inc.

       The Department of Agriculture (DA) represented by Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) represented by its President and Chief Executive Francis Lim recently signed an agreement setting the stage for a commodities trading platform in the country. The ceremony was held at the PSE Ayala Boardroom, Makati City.

       There were 35 exhibitors from the Philippine food industry joining in different categories such as coconut products, seafood and marine products, dried and processed fruits and vegetables, fruit jams and jellies, fruit wines, fruit purees, banana chips, sauces and condiments, noodles, food supplements and other gourmet delights. Nearly one-half of the Philippine exhibitors this year were involved either partly or exclusively in coconut food manufacturing/processing.

       The European spot market for desiccated coconut has seen more activity of late as origin supplies for nearby delivery dry up and exporters quote slightly higher prices for deferred shipments, the UK-based Public Ledger reports. A leading Dutch trader said, the recent rise in crude oil prices has fed through to vegetable oils, including coconut oil by around $25 a ton, creating a firm backdrop for desiccated coconut market. Sri Lanka increased its prices for fine and medium grade by $30 a ton over the past week to $1,360 a ton. ?After crude oil and vegetable oils went up, the origin sellers were more reluctant. They were more aggressive and quoted slightly higher prices,? said the Dutch trader.

       A top industry official in Indonesia said the country?s palm oil stocks will rise by 100,000 MT per month beginning October onwards due to strong output and more maturing oil palm trees. Derom Bangun, vice chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Board explained that stocks should hit 1.6 million MT in October and 1.7 million MT in the current month, adding that the increase could have been more had it not been for solid demand for crude palm oil.

       Nestle announced last month its commitment to using only Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) by 2015, when sufficient quantities are expected to be available. This follows a detailed review of Nestle?s palm oil supply chain. Under its policy on Environmental Sustainability, Nestle has pledged to give preference to suppliers who strive to improve the efficiency and sustainability of their operations and use of resources.

       The company uses palm kernel oil for some of its confectionery and dairy products, but it is not a major raw material used. It also buys processed palm oil and processed oil mixes which often comes from multiple sources. However, Nestle does not use crude palm oil nor has any direct links to the palm oil plantations and continues to work with suppliers to investigate the traceability of all possible sources of any palm oil used.

       A soya oil developed in the U.S. by Monsanto and Solae is now a step closer to reaching consumers after it earned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration?s (USFDA) approval as GRAS (generally regarded as safe). With GRAS status, the product, SDA Omega-3 soya oil, could be used in food products, the USFDA said. The designation is given to foods generally deemed safe by regulators, although FDA does not require a scientific safety review. The oil is the first Monsanto-developed product genetically modified for specific properties known to improve human health. Omega-3 fatty acids are linked to cardiovascular and brain health benefits, particularly the EPA or DHA Omega-3 oils derived from fish, rather than the ALA type derived from plants.

       A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, says consuming a diet rich in monounsaturated fats could lower the risk of metabolic syndrome even without weight loss. Metabolic syndrome is a condition that encompasses a number of risk factors for overweight and obesity, such as large waistline, hypertension, high blood pressure, and low levels of HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol - so called ?good? cholesterol. This study adds further weight to the idea that monounsaturated fat can help reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol while diets high in saturated fat are linked to higher rates of tissue inflammation. Inflammation related to obesity is known to contribute to the development of a range of disorders, including type-2 diabetes, heart disease, insulin resistance, and fatty liver disease.

       Dutch researchers selected 20 ?moderately overweight? subjects for the study on the basis of a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or over, or a waist circumference of at least 80 cm for women and 94cm for men. All subjects consumed a diet rich in saturated fat for a two-week ?run-in period? and then 10 continued on this diet for a further eight weeks, while the other 10 received a diet rich in monounsaturated fats, mainly in the form of refined olive oil. The diets were similar in terms of total fats, protein, carbohydrates and dietary fiber, but the saturated fat diet contained 19 percent saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and 11 percent monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), while the monounsaturated fat diet contained 11 percent SFAs and 20 percent MUFAs. The researchers monitored weight and adjusted energy intake in order to prevent weight changes.