While the exotic flavors, textures and scents of Green Curry, Shrimp Pad Thai, Kao Noi Noodles and other Southeast Asian dishes will dominate the delicious dishes served up at THAIFEX – World of Food Asia in Bangkok, there will also be the enticing aroma and taste of sizzling bratwurst to enjoy along with Bamberger Kaiserdom and Ottinger beer during the May 25-29 trade fair. That’s because Germany is the show’s official partner country this year.
Visitors to the German Pavilion in Hall 1 of the Impact Exhibition Center will be able to get up close and personal will grill meisters who will conduct live cooking demonstrations in which pork, beef and poultry will proliferate as center-of-the-plate meat treats to see and sample. Among companies bringing frozen specialty cuts to prepare at the party are Vion GmbH, NWT GmbH and Wolf Wurstspezialitäten.
Products promoted by the Schwandorf-headquartered Wolf Wurst team at Booth D-26 will include Original Thüringer Rostbratwurst and Original Nürnberger Rostbratwurst. Only finely minced meat is used to make these traditional regional favorites of Germany, in which recipes that date back hundreds of years are adhered to reverently.
Thüringer-style sausages are distinguished from the dozens of unique types of German wursts by a distinctive assortment of spices which include marjoram as well as caraway, garlic, salt and pepper. The meat’s fat content is always under 25%, compared to up to 60% in other sausages.
The way to best enjoy crispy brown grilled Nürnberger wursts the traditional way requires eating them with horseradish, generally in units of three per serving. Don’t even think about using mustard or ketchup as a condiment!
This year’s running of THAIFEX-World of Food Asia, jointly organized by Thailand’s Department of International Trade Promotion, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Koelnmesse GmbH of Germany, is featuring 80,000 square meters of floor space. As always, zones are being dedicated to frozen foods, seafood, fruits, vegetables, halal items and other product categories. It is anticipated that more than 38,000 buyers and traders will attend the show, in addition to 112,000 public sector visitors. The premises will sport over 60 pavilions, and approximately 900 local exhibitors will be on hand to show their stuff among several thousand booths.
The Thai food industry, which generated US $24.4 billion in sales last year, is ranked among the world’s top exporters of processed frozen chicken, fish and seafood. Its leading suppliers of such products will be present at THAIFEX, among them Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Co. Limited (CPF) in Halls CH1-3 and IEC Halls 1-4; and Thai Union Frozen Products PLC in Hall CH3, Booth N-01.
The nation is also home to many small to medium-sized companies that specialize in value added frozen products ranging from vegetables and fruits to ice cream, pizza and other ready meals. Many of them will be on the scene.
U-Thani, Ayutthaya-based Alfredo Enterprise Co. Ltd. will hold forth at Booth 0-51 in Hall CH3, spotlighting frozen convenience products that run the gamut from whole pizzas and single-serve pizza slices to pizza crusts, stromboli, calzone, wraps and burritos. It also offers a microwaveable Cabin Snacks line for airlines, plus special packs for petrol stations and convenience stores.
Personnel from Chang Mai-based Lanna Agro Industry (LACO) will be found at Booth G-25 in Hall CH3 with a cornucopia of frozen tropical fruits, healthy-eating IQF edamame, sweet corn and other vegetables. In addition, they will showcase a number of value-added treats and ready meals ranging from chocolate-covered mango to Penang Curry.
Folks from Lenk Frozen Foods (Asia) Co. Ltd., founded by German national Heiko W. Lenk in 2003, will greet visitors at Booth N-53 in Hall CH 3. Billing itself as “Your Seafood Gate to Asia,” the Bangkok-headquartered company specializes in sourcing high-quality raw materials in from Southeast Asia and the sub-continent to be packed under European brand private labels as well as brand names. In addition to Thailand, its established supply line extends to reputable producers of farm-raised and sea-caught marine products in Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, India and elsewhere.
Other seafood companies from near and far will be at the show, including Andaman Seafood Co., Ltd of Thailand (Hall CH3, Booth P-01); Donghwwa Food of Korea (Hall CH3, Booth L-08); Nichirei Fresh Inc. of Japan (Hall IEC4, Booth W-07); PT Toba Surimi Industries of Indonesia (Hall CH3, Booth K-20); Seaborn A/S of Norway (Hall CH3, Booth L-15); Tai Ting Foods Co., Ltd of Taiwan (Hall IEC2, Booth L-34); Qingdao Yize Food Co. Ltd of China (Hall CH3, Booth C-03); and the Tokyo, Japan-based arm of Camanchacca Limited (Hall CH3, Booth K-30). Headquartered in Chile, Camanchacca offers a full line of shelled mussel meat, abalone, scallops, salmon and other products.
In addition to the myriad of exhibits, a number of timely education programs and special events are on tap, including the 4th World of Food Safety Conference, Asian Food Franchising Forum, and the Thailand Ultimate Chef Challenge. More details are available by visiting the organizer’s website at www.worldoffoodasia.com. – Reported by John Saulnier
