Innobic to market special sauce that 'hides' veggies

Innobic (Asia), the life science arm of national oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc, will commercialise sauce son phak (vegetables hidden in sauce), a new health product developed by researchers at Mahidol University for people who dislike vegetables.

The sauce, made up of various kinds of vegetables, has nutritional value similar to that of vegetables, according to researchers at the university's Institute of Nutrition.

Innobic and Mahidol University recently signed a deal on the production and distribution of the new sauce.

This collaboration will add value to the university's R&D and is part of the company's strategy to look for new business opportunities in the food and medicine sectors, said Buranin Rattanasombat, PTT senior executive vice-president and chairman of Innobic (Asia).

The company is expanding its businesses to speed up growth for PTT Group.

"This product will become a new food choice for people who are health conscious. The first bottle will be launched in the third quarter," said Mr Buranin.

He did not give details on production facilities, marketing and distribution plans.

Sauce son phak will also bring more revenue to vegetable growers.

People can add the sauce to grilled meat for health purposes because the sauce contains anti-cancer substances, said associate professor Chalat Santivarangkana, director of the Institute of Nutrition.

It is widely known that vegetables have anti-cancer properties while eating overcooked meat poses a risk of cancer.

Mr Chalat said Thai people consume vegetables at amounts below the standard of 400 grammes a day, as recommended by the World Health Organization.

Less than 30% of young Thai adults consume a sufficient amount of vegetables daily, so sauce son phak, once rolled out for sale, will be another channel to increase intake of nutrition from vegetables, he said.