This study aimed to assess the acceptability of arrowroot flour (Maranta arundinacea L.) in the production of salt bread (pandesal) in the country. Two experiments were conducted namely, pre-experiment and actual experiment. The pre-experiment had two trials in making pandesal wherein the first trial focused on producing traditional pandesal (T1, 0%) while the second trial used different percentages of arrowroot flour (T2, 20%; T3, 30% and T4,40%) to determine the optimum ratio with selected flours. The acceptability used a 9-point Hedonic scale wherein 9 is the highest (Like extremely) and 1 (Dislike extremely). Results showed that T1 had the highest general acceptability (7.8, ) followed by T3 (7.5) and both were labeled as ‘Like very much’ while T2 (6.8) and T4 (6.7) were both labeled as ‘Like moderately’. In terms of cost, T1 was the cheapest and T4 as the most expensive. While arrowroot-based flour pandesal is more expensive right now, it was found out to acceptable flour substitute in making pandesal. The use of this flour as alternative in producing bread can help address the problem of the country’s heavy dependence on imported flour. Result of this study and further studies on the use of arrowroot flour will support local farmers in growing arrowroot for other potential uses.

The drastic increased use of telenutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic allows the provision of nutrition services despite the physical restrictions. The effective implementation of any mode of healthcare delivery, including telenutrition, is heavily influenced by client acceptance. This study generally aims to analyze the acceptability of telenutrition among patients of the IHNF Nutrition Wellness Clinic. Ten (10) semi-structured interviews were conducted using the theoretical framework of acceptability from July to August 2022. Participants were purposively sampled from the patients of the clinic. The qualitative analysis revealed that the participants were highly satisfied with their telenutrition consultations and even found telenutrition an acceptable alternative to in-person visits mainly due to its thoroughness, convenience, accessibility, cost, and time efficiency. However, several participants expressed concerns about the need for a doctor’s referral to avail of the consultation and the effect of internet stability on the telenutrition consultation. Nonetheless, the high satisfaction with telenutrition driven by the patients’ positive experience outweighs the patient-expressed concerns about internet stability and access barriers associated with the patients’ recent telenutrition consultation.