Press Releases

March 28, 2005

CENTRAL AMERICAN JOURNALISTS TOUR TEXAS AND LOUISIANA

“The purpose of the visit is to expose the journalists to southern cuisine and generate publicity for southern foods in Central America.”

New Orleans, LA – The Southern United States Trade Association (SUSTA) will bring two Central American journalists to Texas and Louisiana for a taste of southern U.S. cuisine from April 5 to 10, 2005. The visit is part of SUSTA's Central American Foodservice Initiative, a program that seeks to promote southern food and agricultural exports to Central America.

Ms. Shirley Ugalde is the sub director of the Costa Rican publication Revista Apetito, a magazine targeted to decision makers in the hotel and restaurant industry. Ms. Tania Urias is a journalist who writes for El Salvador's newspaper El Diario de Hoy and its food magazine counterpart Buen Provecho. "The purpose of the visit is to expose the journalists to southern cuisine and generate publicity for southern foods in Central America," says SUSTA Generic Program Director Dinorah Cobos.

Ms. Urias and Ms. Ugalde will visit San Antonio, Texas, on April 5 and 6 to learn about Tex-Mex cuisine. On April 7 they will travel to Thibodaux, Louisiana for a tour of the John Folse Culinary School, where SUSTA has conducted five culinary courses to train foreign chefs in the art of southern cuisine. The journalists will also visit Lafayette and Rayne, Louisiana, the heart of Cajun culture and cuisine. Before departing the U.S., they will attend the French Quarter Festival to experience the food and music of New Orleans.

SUSTA, a non-profit trade organization promoting southern U.S. food and agriculture products overseas, is funded by the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service. SUSTA works closely with the departments of agriculture of its member states. SUSTA's goal is twofold: 1) to increase the export of food and agricultural products from the south, and 2) to assist small and medium-sized companies.

For more information on SUSTA's Central American Foodservice Initiative, visit www.susta.org/services/gip_cafoodservice.html.

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