Nam O village’s fish sauce to feature at Foodex-Japan exhibition

The handmade fish sauce ‘Huong Lang Co’ (Ancient Village Savour) will be the only representative product of the central city participating in the Foodex-Japan 2023 – the largest international food and beverage exhibition in Asia on March 7-10.

A source from the Japan-Vietnam Gastronomy Association (JVGA) confirmed that the Da Nang-based fish sauce and unique products from 62 provinces and cities of Vietnam had been selected to display at the exhibition in Tokyo.

JVGA said the Nam O village-built fish sauce was seen as the only fish sauce product of Da Nang had qualified tests in terms of culture, natural landscape promotion and food safety for showcasing at the exhibition, and the fish sauce is available ready in Tokyo for the food and beverage show.

It said the exhibition would be a gateway to the Asia market and a rendezvous of producers and customers.

The handmade fish sauce brand, produced by the four-generation fishing family in Nam O village in the central city’s Lien Chieu district, has kept the traditional formula of the family for more than half a century.

The fish sauce – which qualified for the premium certificate from the Pasteur Institute in Nha Trang in 1958 – will be on display at the Tokyo’s exhibition with two classes, including a one-year and two-year well-fermented period, according to Nguyen Thai Nhat Huy marketing and sales representative of the fish sauce.

The fish sauce trade of Nam O village was also recognised as a National Intangible Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and villagers annually produce 100,000 litres of fish sauce from 200 tonnes of anchovy.

The village has built safe and healthy fish sauce production standards such as non-chemical, zero-plastic, environment-friendly bamboo filters, terra-cotta jars, and glass bottles./