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Food Science and Technology

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Food Science and Technology

The Department of Food Science and Technology (FST) continued to enhance our undergraduate curriculum, advance discovery on research topics ranging from new functional food ingredients to human health, and strengthen industry partnerships. 

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Future Talent

We launched two new courses – FST2109 Fundamentals of Food Engineering and FST2110 Food Microbiology and Fermentation – for College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS) students. In the coming year, we will offer a new Specialisation in Food Science and Technology Industrial Applications to provide students practical exposure to more specialisations that are industry-relevant.

Our Year 3 students reading FST3105 Food Product Development and Packaging had the opportunity to create novel food products, such as natto crackers and pumpkin cream puffs made using ‘flawed’ Yukigeshou pumpkins, in collaboration with food businesses from Hakodate, Japan. This enabled them to meld distinctively Japanese ingredients with local food preferences. 

We resumed our summer exchange programme, FST2204 Seafood Supply Chains in Japan and Singapore, which provides students from NUS and Hokkaido University (HU) practical and in-depth knowledge of the seafood industry and supply chains in Hokkaido, Japan and Singapore.

Hokkaido bound!

Our benefactors’ generosity enables our students to fully benefit from the holistic educational experience we offer. In 2022, five outstanding students were awarded the Prima Group Scholarship.

Providing inclusive and accessible education

Last year, we launched a Harmonisation of Food Regulation initiative to develop standardised food regulation courses for tertiary institutions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Thailand was chosen to be the first country for alignment.

The opening workshop, co-organised by local and Thai institutes and regulatory agencies, was held on 1 December 2022. Almost 200 participants from all sectors of the food industry attended to understand food regulations in Singapore and Thailand and discuss the challenges and potential in standardising regulations to facilitate food trade between the two countries. The second workshop focused on course materials development. This initiative led to four sets of stackable modules developed with guidance from the Food and Drug Administration, Thailand and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), with subsequent ‘Train the Trainer’ workshops planned.

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Future Solutions

Our faculty members continued to publish their work in prestigious journals.  

Understanding toxicity through the gut microbiome

In 2018, Assoc Prof ZHANG Guodong showed that exposure to triclosan, an antimicrobial compound used in thousands of consumer products, increases the risk of colon inflammation and cancer in mice. In his study published in Nature Communications (January 2022), he identified the mechanism behind gut toxicity of triclosan, highlighting the critical role that gut microbiota play in the metabolism and toxicity of xenobiotic compounds.

Discovering new flavones

Scientists previously struggled to recreate bioactive bi- and triflavones, complex and potentially health-promoting compounds. Prof HUANG Dejian’s team developed a catalyst-free reaction to synthesise over 40 existing and novel bi- and triflavones. His study was published in Nature Communications (October 2022).

Edible scaffolds for cultivated meat

Cell culture scaffolds provide the structural support for cells to multiply and develop into tissue. However, they are typically made of synthetic materials that are expensive and inedible, making large-scale meat cultivation difficult. Prof Huang Dejian’s team developed a plant-based cell culture scaffold, which could speed up the process of cultivating laboratory-based meat. The scaffold, which is three-dimensionally (3D) printed using widely available plant proteins, could also make laboratory-grown meat more affordable and sustainable. The team successfully cultured meat that is similar in texture and overall appearance to real animal meat. This study was published in Advanced Materials (October 2022).   

The Nestlé Sustainability Research Fund was established in August 2022 to encourage the development of novel, sustainable and healthy food concepts for Southeast Asian consumers. 

This year, two FST researchers received funds to accelerate their research projects. Prof Huang Dejian’s project is on reclaiming hordein, a plant protein, from brewer’s spent grains for structuring meat analogues, while Dr Alvin LOO investigates the use of mushroom spent substrate as an alternative source of ergothioneine, an emerging antioxidant and nutraceutical.  

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Future Society

A gift from KSF Beverage Holding Foundation in November 2022 enabled us to set up the KSF Startup Support Fund to incubate new ventures by our young entrepreneurs. This year, we awarded four startups $12,500 each to develop their food technologies in our laboratories. The beneficiaries are AuroraFood, Mottainai Food Tech, Curated Culture and Xavoury Foods.

A new lease of life for food waste
Indulge in sweets, the healthier way

Our students continue to do us proud in international competitions and conferences.

Nicole Wong (third from left), Kenzie Tan (second from right) and Manfred Goh (right)

Our undergraduate students – Serena WONG, Nicole WONG, Kenzie TAN and Manfred GOH – were Champions in the Undergraduate Quiz Bowl Championship during the biennial International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) World Congress (2022). 

Year 4 student YEO Yong Liang was the Grand Winner of the IUFoST Rose Spiess Video Competition, which challenged students to create engaging videos showcasing the positive impact of food science in their country. 

Our postgraduate students LI Yingyue and WANG Yue also emerged Champion and First Runner-Up, respectively, in the Food Safety Without Borders Graduate Students Paper Competition held during the Congress.

WANG Xiang was awarded the Best PhD Student Oral Presentation at the 6th International Symposium on Phytochemicals in Medicine & Food, an international conference which hosted over 1,000 experts from 70 countries. 

Our students also presented their work at the Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) Food Improved by Research, Science, and Technology (FIRST) conference in Chicago. MI Jiaqi (left) clinched first place in the Biotechnology Division of the Graduate Student Oral Competition, while Jayne LEE (right) emerged third in the Aquatic Food Products Division.

Our alumni continue to make an impact through service and contributions in various capacities to businesses and society.  

Reimagining plant-based diets

We organised a Chinese New Year (CNY) community event, where staff and students came together to show appreciation to 68 cleaning staff from our faculty.  

Our organising committee sought sponsors and raised funds to purchase food staples for the cleaning staff, collected blemished fruits and vegetables from Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre together with Fridge Restock Community SG, and distributed food packs with fruits, vegetables, rice, oil, soy sauce, sugar, canned drinks, grocery vouchers and coffee to the staff before CNY. 

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Hokkaido bound!

“We learned about how precious seafood is to us, the effects of climate change on its sustainability and how it is handled and processed to reach our plates.”

WONG Jia Hui, Year 3 Food Science and Technology

The six-week experiential learning programme# combines lectures and onsite tours to a wholesale fish market, Hokkaido Industrial Technology Center and local seafood companies, to name a few. This enables students to immerse themselves in diverse topics, ranging from fisheries and aquaculture to microbial control technologies for food safety and preservation, seafood byproduct valorisation, food security and the impact of globalisation on supply chains.

#FST2204 Seafood Supply Chains in Japan and Singapore

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Providing inclusive and accessible education

“The scholarship increased my confidence as a student and reduced the financial burden of my tuition fees. This allows me to focus on discovering my areas of interest in food science.”

ANG Wei Pin, Year 3 Food Science and Technology    
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A new lease of life for food waste

“Behind our food lies the copious food processing byproducts that go into the bin. By valorising okara, we tackle food waste concerns while also strengthening food security.”

Okara, a byproduct of soy milk and tofu production, is usually thrown away because of its unpalatable taste and texture.

Our alumnus (2020) Mr HENG Chin Wee cofounded Mottainai Food Tech to investigate how different processing byproducts can be applied back in food. One project is Jiro-meat, where fermentation transforms okara into an alternative meat. Jiro-meat is high in fibre yet low in saturated fat. It is a healthier alternative to meat and is suitable for dishes that use minced meat as an ingredient. The team successfully used Jiro-meat to make chicken pie and bibimbap. Jiro-meat is the first alternative meat made from food waste in Singapore.
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Credit: NUS Graduate Research Innovation Programme

Indulge in sweets, the healthier way

“Our technology offers diabetic-friendly food choices, with no compromise on taste and texture.”

Our alumna Dr GAO Jing (2017) and Dr JIN Xiaoxuan (2021) believe that everyone has the right to enjoy sweets without worrying about their health. Drawing on a discovery made in 2013 on a group of bioactive compounds from cereals and berries that slow down carbohydrate digestion, they cofounded AuroraFood to create diabetic-friendly products using patented low glycaemic index technology. Their food technology enables the production of baked goods and desserts with a slow sugar release without the use of sugar alternatives, catering to diabetics as well as health-conscious consumers. 

In the future, they plan to show the versatility of their technology through collaborations and co-innovations with food manufacturers and retailers.    

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Reimagining plant-based diets

“I am passionate about formulating food recipes that are plant-based and sustainable, which are nutritious and taste good at the same time.”

The demand for plant-based diets is increasing, as consumers become more socially conscious about the food they consume – for sustainability, environmental, ethical or health reasons.

It is in this exciting new domain that alumnus (2012) Dr WONG Shen Siung contributes his expertise. As Director (Global Applications) at Tate & Lyle, he applies his research skills and business acumen to lead teams internationally in discovering novel functionalities of food products and ingredients, with a specific emphasis on food formulation as well as commercialising new products. His work contributes to meeting consumers’ evolving lifestyles and preferences for cost-effective food products with enhanced nutritional, sensory and texture attributes.

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New bent-toed gecko species in Timor-Leste

“We have barely scratched the surface of Timor-Leste’s biodiversity. New discoveries can have profound impacts on conservation and policy-making.”

In August 2022, we led an expedition to Timor-Leste in collaboration with Conservation International and the government of Timor-Leste. The Museum’s herpetologist, Dr CHAN Kin Onn, discovered a new species of bent-toed gecko which was named Cyrtodactylus santana, in reference to the Nino Konis Santana National Park, in which the gecko was discovered.