Baguio longanisa (Photo courtesy of MV Alabanza longganisa Facebook page)
BAGUIO CITY -- Now on its third year, the longest longanisa festival will be held on Sunday (October 6) as part of the Hotel and Restaurant Tourism (HRT) weekend event here.
“It will be 7.5 kilometers-long, which will be held by around 1,000 people spread, along the uphill portion of Session Road (back and forth),” said Andrew Pinero, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB) spokesperson and the customer relations manager of the Baguio Country Club, on Wednesday.
The longanisa will be displayed uncooked and sold to the public at a cheap price.
Pinero said the event marked the third time the HRAB, in partnership with Alabanza meat shop -- the maker of what is now known as “Baguio longanisa” -- made it an attraction of the HRT weekend.
He said the 16,000 pieces of medium-size longanisa was already made and is now stored in freezers at the Baguio Country Club.
“Naka-store na lang siya sa walk-in chillers and freezers sa club (it has been stored in the walk-in chillers and freezers at the club) ready for the event. Vonda (Alabanza) has designed a way where the storage is well sanitized and the shelf life will be longer,” Pinero said.
He assured that the pork meat used for the longanisa is free from the African swine fever (ASF) virus, which is plaguing the hog industry in various provinces.
“We assure the public that the longanisa we will display for the event was fully inspected by the NMIS,” Pinero said.
Pinero said the event was planned even before the ASF rocked the hog industry.
“It's so unfortunate that there is an ASF issue at the time we are launching it but we are very confident that people will continue to patronize our longanisa,” he said.
He said the meat establishments made sure the pork came from the Cordillera, where there is no reported case of ASF.
The Alabanza longanisa, which is now known as “Baguio longanisa”, is sought after by both residents and tourists, Pinero said.
“Our longanisa has reached a status synonymous with that of Nueva Ecija, Quezon province and other areas,” he said. (PNA)
