Food Science & Nutrition
Explore Singapore and Malaysia through the food and nutrition industry, covering food production through to regulation and consumption. The program explores how these two countries feed themselves (and some neighbors), the Malaysian government’s focus on creating a biotech hub to support the manufacturing industry, and the issue of Halal certification.
Students meet with organizations across government and industry involved not only in production and manufacture but also policy and quality control. In addition, students receive an orientation into local history, culture, politics and social structure, all the while understanding Singapore and Malaysia’s obsession with food!
Previous highlights in Singapore have included visits to Alexandria Hospital, the Singapore Health Promotion Board, and the Sports Institute in Singapore where they looked at the evolving diets of Asian sports people in a competitive world. They also visited NEWwater to learn how this small island nation manages its water supply.
Malaysian industry visits have included Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia’s pre-eminent agriculture university, the Heineken Beer Factory where many favored beverages are produced, and a day trip to rural Kuala Selangor, where not only do students meet their first monkeys, they also learn about rice padi production and processing, local products manufactured in small family enterprises, and explore the exotic delicacies of a local wet market.
Site Visits
-
![]()
Government agencies
Meet with ministries of health, the Singapore Health Promotion Board and the Malaysian Halal certification body to learn how these countries manage the health and well being of their populations.
-
![]()
Edible/community gardens
How does a small island nation like Singapore feed itself with limited land resources? What is triggering the expansion of community gardens in Malaysia? Site visits to some amazing social enterprises who not only grow food, but teach others to and even run cafes that showcase their fresh produce.
-
![]()
Farm trip
A day trip to Kuala Selangor, the food bowl of KL, with rice fields, the BERNAS rice processing factory, fishing trawlers bringing in the daily catch, and local “cottage industry” type food producers.
-
![]()
Malaysian Palm Oil Council
Understand the importance of the palm oil Industry to the economy of the country, it’s commitment to sustainability and environmental impact, and the science of palm oil including its role in health and nutrition.
-
![]()
Supermarkets
Explore the myriad of ways Asians purchase their food. Compare local domestic focused supermarkets with the larger chains that offer imported goods including Aussie cheese, meat, fresh produce and wine, and contrast those with the very local wet markets providing the freshest of meat, fish and produce daily, direct from the farm!
-
![]()
Universities
Universities in each country welcome international visitors and are keen on seminars or workshops that allow discussion on topics of mutual interest or specialisation, particularly if they provide student engagement.
-
![]()
Picha eats
A local Malaysian social enterprise that not only provides an income for refugees who provide homecooked meals in their homes, but has expanded to provide meal delivery and catering services that provide training for refugees to enter the F&B industry.
