Food makes the world go round

31 Dec 2014

Have you ever noticed that stressed spelt backwards is dessert? A coincidence, you might say. Nah, we don’t think so. The next time you are feeling emotionally strained, take a bite of your favourite chocolate and it will help boost your mood. Legend has it, no wait, SCIENCE knows for a fact that chocolate releases endorphins which are the body’s natural pain reliever. SP Buzz got this heads-up from Wan Ling, a graduate who pursued a Diploma in Food Science and Technology (DFST). She also fills us in on her DFST adventure!

Hi everyone, I am Wan Ling!

When I applied for the Diploma in Food Science and Technology, I had the impression that only my cooking skills would be polished. Little did I know that it was much more than that and I would be taken on a journey to become a well-rounded food and science student. During my course of study, both the science and business aspects of food were taught to us.

For instance, the in-depth science knowledge about the different food ingredients taught has enabled me and my course mates to make use of different food functional properties to create new and novel food products, some of which are now commercially sold in places such as FairPrice.

In addition to that, the marketing skills I learnt have really helped me a lot especially now in my career as a management trainee in Mr Bean. Working at Mr Bean, I had the chance to utilise my marketing skills to increase awareness of the food products sold to increase the sales in my outlet. Furthermore, I get to apply the food safety skills on maintaining the shelf life and safety of the food handled in my company which I learnt as part of my diploma course at SP.

I have absolutely no regrets joining DFST because this course has provided me with numerous opportunities to explore and gather insights about the food industry both locally and overseas. In 2013, I travelled to Dalian China for an overseas immersion trip. Besides visiting a local food manufacturing company to understand the criteria and safety layout of the food factory, I had the chance to taste ripe strawberries and witness blooming Sakura.

Besides that, there were also other non-academic opportunities I got, to travel overseas. I made a trip to Thailand and had the chance to share my recipe of tom yum crackers in the hope of helping the Thai villagers to increase their income and improve their livelihood. This was under an SP programme called ‘Friendship Express’ which immerses us in different cultures. I am extremely grateful for such opportunities as they were enriching, eye-opening and really helped to shape me a well-rounded individual.

Back to studies, on 10 March 2014, my course mates and I attended the Young Scientists’ Symposium to present our Final Year Project, which was a food product which we developed – Non-dairy creamer in a convenient tablet form. It was such a great honour to be able to represent SP in a prestigious event and ultimately clinching the poster presentation merit award. It was a good learning experience for me to be involved in this symposium and be given the opportunity to showcase the product of my hard work to others.

As mentioned earlier, I am currently working at Mr Bean as a management trainee. I landed this job through the SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) Talent programme, a scholarship programme by SPRING Singapore. I am really glad that with the skills and experience I gained while in SP can be applied to ensure smooth flow of operations and good team management as a store manager.

Editor: Under the Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review (ASPIRE) Committee’s recommendations which were fully accepted by the Ministry of Education, SP was chosen as the Sector Lead for Food Technology. Students of SP’s Diploma in Food Science and Technology have developed various commercially successful food products to date. The list includes Pokka Lemon & Kalamansi drink, Two-Ply Noodles, XO Kaya, Yamie Rice, Rainbow Rice and the Love Letter Latte coffee blend.