Black garlic lemon basil syrup towards OCOP | QUANG NAM ONLINE NEWSPAPER
Báo Quảng Nam•09/08/2023
(QNO) - Lemon basil leaves, garlic, kumquat, ginger, rock sugar... combined together to form a syrup that can help children and pregnant mothers overcome coughs and minor illnesses. This is a folk remedy developed by Ms. Ngo Thi Loc (born in 1989, Binh Trung commune, Thang Binh district) into a black garlic lemon basil syrup product, trusted by customers.
Ms. Ngo Thi Loc and black garlic lemon basil syrup product. Photo: ML
Ms. Ngo Thi Loc said that she used to do business in Da Nang. In 2019, she gave birth and went through a difficult period of taking care of her child when she was often sick and had to go to the hospital a lot.
"I had to quit my job and spend all my time taking care of my child. Feeling sorry for my child having to use so many antibiotics, I thought of my grandfather's traditional medicine and searched my garden for herbal plants," Ms. Loc shared.
The place where black garlic lemon basil syrup is processed ensures hygiene and safety. Photo: ML
She started to learn and grow herbs such as chives, perilla, fish mint, lemon basil leaves, etc. around the house so that when her child was sick, she could cook syrup right away. Thanks to this folk remedy, her child's minor pains were reduced, and she no longer had to go to the hospital or use as many antibiotics as before. From the times she cooked for her child, she also found the standard recipe for cooking lemon basil and black garlic syrup.
From then on, when her friends had children with minor illnesses, she immediately shared the syrup recipe. Receiving many positive responses and suggestions to produce large quantities for sale, Ms. Loc decided to develop this idea.
Ingredients are grown in home gardens and ordered from local people. Photo: ML
In September 2019, she moved back to her hometown in Binh Trung commune and started growing raw materials to process syrup, produce large quantities, and sell to the market.
Ms. Loc said that black garlic lemon basil syrup is made from black garlic, lemon basil leaves, ginger, fish mint leaves, perilla leaves, kumquat, chives, and naturally crystallized rock sugar from sugarcane.
In particular, black garlic enhances resistance, kumquat increases Vitamin C, lemon basil leaves have high medicinal properties against inflammation, anti-swelling, combined with the warming properties of ginger, crystallized rock sugar is very good for the spleen and lungs. Chives, perilla leaves, and fish mint also have many uses, when combined together they will create a very good folk remedy.
After the ingredients are pre-processed, they will be put into a pot to cook the mixture, passed through a press to filter the juice and concentrate it to create black garlic lemon basil syrup.
In early 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, demand increased, she had to mobilize workers to work at full capacity, find raw materials everywhere to meet the demand of 3,000 jars of syrup per month.
Through many stages, the finished product of black garlic lemon basil syrup is in concentrated form and carefully packaged. Photo: ML
To meet the growing market demand, Ms. Loc has ordered local people to grow raw materials. “Since opening my home production facility, I have ordered local people to grow raw plants and vegetables. People have been very supportive because it gives me an additional source of stable income,” said Ms. Loc.
[VIDEO] - Black garlic lemon basil syrup product participates in the OCOP program in 2023:
Ms. Loc added that since the product is aimed at children and pregnant mothers, special attention is paid to the source of raw materials. Plants must be grown in dry, clean places, without the use of chemicals or fertilizers.
Black garlic lemon basil syrup product registered to participate in the OCOP program in 2023. Photo: ML
What she was concerned about was the short shelf life of the product. Initially it was only 6 months, which was very difficult for agents to order in large quantities. She continued to research and find ways to upgrade the product, increasing the shelf life from 6 months to 12 months and now up to 18 months without using any additives or preservatives.
Currently, black garlic and lemon basil syrup is available nationwide with more than 50 agents and branches. In 2022, the output will be about 50,000 jars of 200ml syrup. She also established Loc Nhien Phat Production and Trading Cooperative located in Binh Trung commune.
The black garlic lemon basil syrup product is trusted by many pregnant mothers and mothers with young children. Photo: ML
Currently, the cooperative has invested nearly 1 billion VND to build a factory, purchase specialized machinery such as a mixture cooking machine, a juice separator, a product concentrator and other machinery for production. At the same time, it inspects and publishes food safety indicators, meeting ISO and HACCP standards.
Loc Nhien Phat Cooperative also produces green kumquat and black garlic jams and various types of cakes and nutritious seeds. Photo: ML
Loc Nhien Phat Cooperative also has green kumquat jam with black garlic, cakes, nuts, nutritious nut milk, herbal tea. The products are produced in a vegan, organic direction, without additives or preservatives, bringing health to users.
Currently, each year, black garlic lemon basil syrup and other products bring in an income of 300 - 400 million VND, while creating jobs for many local workers.
Realizing the effectiveness of the OCOP program, in 2023, the Cooperative registered to participate and made efforts to complete the criteria according to regulations.
“This is a product that actively sources local materials and labor, aiming at the health needs of users, and is my brainchild in which I put a lot of heart and soul.
Although the product has been on the market and has been well received by many customers, I think that participating in OCOP is an affirmation of product quality. At the same time, we will gradually innovate packaging, labels, access support mechanisms, and promote trade. I hope the product will achieve a star rating this year so that it can go further" - Ms. Loc shared.
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