As a Nutrition Science student there are many industry employment options available to consider after the completion of my studies. Gearing up to start my study mobility program for Semester two at International Medical University, I was lucky to be included in a field trip organised by the head of Nutrition Sciences Dr Megan Chong Hueh Zhan.
This trip provided me and other IMU students the opportunity to view and experience daily operations of the Origin Foods functional ingredients manufacturing plant, and ask questions about the nutritional foods industry, including future direction of small-scale local Malaysian food manufacturing and how we could enter this industry with our degrees and possible future entrepreneurship.
We were shown the process of manufacturing capsules, tablets, and powders from wheatgrass into nutrition supplements, then into packing the products ready for shipping to the companies, which then go out to retail for the consumer.
A fascinating element of Origin Foods is that in the urban office building is housed their own Indoor Organic Aeroponic Cultivation of wheatgrass used in their products. With interest in indoor urban farming on the rise due to food insecurity and climate change, future nutritionists and dieticians being informed on these contemporary applications used by companies helps us know what options are available to the public when prescribing nutritional advice.
For the business minded nutrition and dietetics students, this exposure to the nutrition supplement industry also provides an insight into operations and crucial safety bio-testing inkeeping with food laws and regulations, as well as the in depth and rigorous process of obtaining Halal and Organic certifications on your products.
My experience with IMU lead initiatives to the wider Nutrition Industry has spanned back since December 2022 when I went on a Deakin University International Food and Nutrition Tour, which included trips to the Ministry of Health, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Kawan Food Factory, and Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS). We also had many talks from nutrition bodies including the Nutrition Society of Malaysia, The Malaysian Dietician Association and a cooking workshop with IMU Healthy Cafeteria.
If you are studying anything in Health Sciences or Medical Sciences, I can highly recommend reaching out to the IMU student mobility on the website https://student-mobility.imu.edu.my/ to see if you can participate in the Malaysian Medical and Nutrition scene.
Special thank you to Dr Megan for inviting me to your trip!
