Monthly Archives: January 2013

Groceries and Eating at Home

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Two weeks ago today we arrived in PNG=
. One thing that continues to inform and amuse are the offerings of the=
local foodstuffs. It's clear that fresh produce is abundant, inexp=
ensive, and contains a variety unknown outside of the tropics. But let&=
#39;s leave that for another day; today I write about the prepared goods=
one buys.

Last night we dined at home on hotdogs (with ketchup=
and onions) and potato chips. A real American meal! 😉 …


The major grocery store — locally, the supermarket — is And=
erson's Foodland. You can see their homepage here http://www.andersons.com.pg/ but read a little more at the corporate holder's page here http://www.chemcaregroup.com.pg/Andersons%20Foodland.html. =
The pictures shown on the web site are accurate. We understand that, a=
mong supermarkets, Andersons is the high price option hereabouts. But t=
hey have it all. Security guards at the door, plenty of shopping carts =
(in good shape), aisles and aisles of well stocked food and household pr=
oducts, a butcher and bakery in the store. At check-out there are at le=
ast two register clerks to assist you, one to ring the items and one to =
empty your cart for you, bag the goods after scanned, and put them back =
in the cart. As you leave the register, a younger employee magically ap=
pears and pushes your cart for you, out the door, and unloads it for you=
into your car.

The registers are, of course, latest in technol=
ogy with flat-panel computer screens, bar code scanners, and credit-card=
readers. Certain aisles are marked for "cash only", some acc=
ept "cheques" and one is for a limited number of items purchas=
ed. All sounds familiar, doesn't it?

The products themselv=
es are a hoot. We have had canned potato chips by the name of Mister Po=
tato Crisps, which come in a variety of flavors (such as sour cream and =
onion) and come from Malaysia. You'd say "Pringles" if yo=
u weren't worried about trademark violations. The package in my han=
d was produced for distribution all around South America, New Zealand, A=
ustralia and Oceania, and is completely labeled in English, Spanish and =
Portuguese.

Then there are the Jack 'n Jill brand of chocol=
ate sandwich cookies, Cream-O. Think "Oreos" unless trademark=
s mean a lot to you. These come from URC Co. Ltd of Thailand (http://www.jacknjill.co.t=
h), and are labeled in English (mostly) and Thai. The nutritional c=
ontents on all edibles are clearly labeled, fat, trans-fat, cholesterol,=
carbohydrates, fiber (fibre), sodium and so forth. The Thai cookies ev=
en give the percent of each according to the Thai daily recommended allo=
wances. Products for sale or possible sale in the U.S.A. have weights i=
n pounds and ounces along with grams, and energy in calories. Everythin=
g else has weights just in grams and energy in kilojoules.

We a=
lso have cookies made in Fiji and oh yes, quite a few food items produce=
d in the U.S.A. For example, we bought a jar of grape jam from a wholes=
ale food company out of California, complete with full USDA-required nut=
rition labels.

3D''The wrapper of the bar of hand soap tells it was made in I=
ndonesia by Pt. Orson (under technical assistance of Symrise, Hamburg, G=
ermany … that's what it says). Of course, the savvy shopper alway=
s looks for the "made in PNG" label. For one thing, the price=
s on those are a lot better. Examples include laundry soap, all kinds o=
f household cleaners, baking supplies, and paper goods. And canned meat=
s. And Coca-Cola, which operates a bottling plant (I don't know how=
many of them) in PNG.

Speaking of Coca-Cola company, I need to=
mention "cordials". They are a sweetened flavor syrup of var=
ious flavors. It the quantities stocked on the shelves are any indicati=
on they are very popular. We bought a bottle of lime flavor to try. Yo=
u mix it with water (this bottle, 1 part syrup to 6 parts water) and ser=
ve chilled. You might think of "Kool Aid" or depending on you=
r background, "Bug Juice." Straight out of the bottle it remi=
nds me of the syrups which are poured over an cone of ice at a county fa=
ir. The brand of cordial we bought is a product of Coca-Cola Company, b=
ut there are competing brands.

By far, the majority of the prod=
uced goods available come from Australia … either products of Australi=
a or labeled "made in Australia of Australian and imported ingredie=
nts." I saw a box of Corn Flakes from Kellogg's Australia. I =
have been eating Wheat Bix breakfast cereal which any Australian could t=
ell you about. Actually, though, I've not bought Wheat Bix(TM) but =
a generic brand called "Black and Gold." Re=
ally, there are "Black and Gold" brand versions of quite a wid=
e variety of products.

Last thought for today is the local mark=
et operated on campus of DWU, called Diwai Market. If you think of a co=
nvenience store like Circle K or 7-11, you're close but not quite. =
For one thing, it's bigger and much more well stocked. For another =
thing, the prices are really competitive with supermarkets in town. Als=
o, they operate a bakery within the store. The prices compare very favo=
rably with Andersons, which, when you consider is the more expensive gro=
cery makes sense. I'm sure there are other stores where items could=
be had for less, but I am told the expatriates rarely shop in those. F=
rom the outside they certainly look a lot less appealing. And when you =
consider the cost of driving to town, the slight price difference at the=
Diwai Market is well worth it.

Well, enough of that. I'm =
sure the local purchase options will continue to hold my interest for so=
me time to come but I will try to not repeat myself very often about it =
here.