Food content creator Erwan Heussaff has exposed the sale of counterfeit Asin Tibuok, a rare UNESCO-recognized artisanal sea salt from Bohol, uncovering issues about fraud targeting one of the country’s most endangered culinary traditions.
In a video posted to his channel, Heussaff demonstrated clear differences between authentic and fake versions of the prized salt.
The counterfeit product crumbles and disintegrates easily when pressure is applied, while genuine Asin Tibuok maintains its structural integrity under the same conditions, he showed.
Heussaff said he has identified reliable sources for authentic Asin Tibuok and is working to trace the origins and distribution channels of the counterfeit products flooding the market.
The emergence of fakes threatens both consumers and the handful of traditional salt makers in Albur, Bohol province, where Asin Tibuok has been produced for centuries using methods passed down through generations.
Asin Tibuok, meaning “unbroken salt,” is made through an elaborate pre-colonial process that involves soaking coconut husks in seawater, burning them to create ash, filtering seawater through the ash to produce brine, and slowly boiling the mixture in handmade clay pots.
The process yields distinctive egg-shaped salt chunks encased in hardened clay shells.
The finished product ranges from white to brown in color and is prized for its complex flavor profile, which connoisseurs describe as sharp, smoky, subtly fruity and earthy – characteristics that reflect the unique production method and local terroir.
In December 2024, UNESCO inscribed the traditional practice of making Asin Tibuok on its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding during a session held in New Delhi, India.
The recognition marked the first Philippine traditional food-processing practice to receive such designation and the seventh Philippine element overall on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage lists.
The labor-intensive production process has resulted in a dramatic decline in practitioners over recent decades.
Only a handful of families in Alburquerque, Bohol now continue the tradition, down from widespread production in coastal communities centuries ago.
UNESCO has warned that the tradition faces existential threats from modern commercial salt production, economic pressures, and declining transmission of knowledge to younger generations.
The appearance of counterfeit products adds a new dimension to these challenges, potentially undermining both the market for authentic Asin Tibuok and efforts to sustain the livelihoods of traditional salt makers.
National Commission for Culture and the Arts Chairman Victorino Mapa Manalo has called the salt-making tradition a testament to the “skill and devotion” of Boholano artisans and centuries of ancestral wisdom.