photo buttoncontact.png  photo buttonbloglovin.png  photo buttongfc.png  photo buttongoogleplus.png  photo buttonyoutube.png  photo buttongiveaway.png

Monday, January 20, 2014

Running the Last Leg of 2013

~*New Year's Eve Eve -- Sub-Division Cohesion Day*~

On the 2nd last day of 2013, we did not have to report to office as it was the sub-division cohesion day. The day started off with a picnic in the morning, a tour around the Yakult factory thereafter, followed by an end-of-year lunch.


What was meant to be a sub-division cohesion picnic became a department picnic. It was really difficult to be cohesive in too large a group and so, the various departments sat together in their own clusters and did not really mingle around.

 photo IMG_9672e.jpg


Left: The egg mayo made by one of my colleagues was a great hit! I only had half the bread spread with egg mayo and completed the other half with seafood spread from the can.
Right: I was trying to make tapas from the leftover tomatoes.

 photo collageCohesion1.jpg


There seemed to be some sort of colour coordination in our dressing and where we sat that morning.
The bright red and pink with a grey one trying to squeeze her way in.

 photo IMG_9673e.jpg


The basic whites.

 photo IMG_9674e.jpg


The dark side.

 photo IMG_9676e.jpg


After the picnic, we proceeded to the Yakult Factory. Before the tour, we had to sit down in a classroom setting like students listening to the teacher in front. We started reminiscing about all the different kinds of classmates.

 photo IMG_9687e.jpg


The presenter was engaging and funny. I learnt a lot from the presentation than from the tour itself. Each "student" had a free bottle of Yakult in original flavour. The most important ingredient of Yakult is the live Lactobacillus casei Shirota. Each bottle of Yakult contains over 30 billion (3.0 X 10¹º) of the active Shirota strain.

 photo IMG_9686e.jpg


We also had a sample cup of Yakult Ace Light. Yakult Ace Light contains 3 times more live Lactobacillus casei Shirota (30 million) but with 30% less sugar and 30% fewer calories.

 photo IMG_9691e.jpg


The simple flow chart depicting the whole process of manufacturing Yakult.

 photo IMG_9692e.jpg


Culture room.

 photo IMG_9695e.jpg


In each "container" are Yakult being fermented at different stages. At this point of time, our guide handed out a bottle of super thick and sour Yakult for anyone who wanted to try pure Yakult without sugar.

 photo IMG_9693e.jpg


Shrink-packing section.

 photo IMG_9696e.jpg


When I looked at this section, I simply wondered about the monotony of the job of the people packing the Yakult bottles.

 photo IMG_9698e.jpg


Printing, filling and sealing section.

 photo IMG_9701e.jpg


Same goes for this section with regard to the monotony.

 photo IMG_9702e.jpg


Seed room.

 photo IMG_9703e.jpg


There was a huge crowd and I had since stopped listening to the guide, who was out of earshot, to know what these were for.

 photo IMG_9705e.jpg


Bottle moulding room.

 photo IMG_9706e.jpg


This machine produces batches and batches of bottles within seconds.

 photo IMG_9707e.jpg

 photo IMG_9708e.jpg


Quality control room.

 photo IMG_9709e.jpg


This room looked pretty bare.

 photo IMG_9711e.jpg


Growing the cultures.

 photo IMG_9710e.jpg


It was cute to see the airy light bottles flying up the tubes.

 photo IMG_9715e.jpg


They were packing the original flavours in the afternoon. In the morning, they were doing the grape-flavoured ones.

 photo IMG_9718e.jpg


Shrink-packing section.

 photo IMG_9720e.jpg


This is the level one of what we saw from upstairs earlier on.

 photo IMG_9721e.jpg


Yakult around the world.

 photo IMG_9723e.jpg


Older generation Yakult bottles and packaging around the world and through the years.

 photo IMG_9724e.jpg


More recent Yakult bottles and packaging around the world and through the years.

 photo IMG_9725e.jpg


Other health and beauty products manufactured by Yakult.

 photo IMG_9726e.jpg


Yakult loot for both sides of the family by the end of the tour.

 photo IMG_9728e.jpg


After the enriching visit to the Yakult factory did I realize just how good Yakult is. No other probiotic drink come close to Yakult as only Yakult contains L.casei strain Shirota, the unique probiotic strain specially developed by their founder, Dr Minoru Shirota. The uniqueness of this probiotic strain lies in its strength to survive the gastric juice and bile to reach the intestines alive, where it works to maintain the balance between the beneficial and harmful bacteria. I was particularly intrigued by the video about how this strain helped NK cells to kill cancerous cells in the body.


More interesting facts about Yakult

♥ Yakult is made by fermenting skim milk powder, sucrose and glucose with their uniquely strengthened probiotics, L. casei strain Shirota.

♥ A bottle of Yakult contains about 70 Calories, which is the same amount of Calories in an apple. It is fat and cholesterol free and contains no preservatives or stabilizers.

♥ A small amount of sugar is added to Yakult to provide nutrients to the probiotics in order to keep them alive during shelf life. Sugar is also needed to counteract the sourness of Yakult and enhance its taste.

♥ In Japan, Yakult is acknowledged by the Japanese Ministry of Health as a "Food for Specified Health Usages" with approved health claim "The Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain reaches the intestines alive, so this product maintains good health by increasing beneficial bacteria, decreasing harmful bacteria and improving the intestinal environment".

♥ Yakult comes in such small bottles as Yakult should not be drunk as a beverage but to be used additionally, and not instead of, other products like yogurt and milk.

♥ Yakult only comes in 1 flavour because as a health drink, Yakult only contains the ingredients necessary to deliver the live bacteria into our intestines. Yakult does not contain any unnecessary additives such as colouring substances. Different flavours usually require adding in of colouring and preservatives.

♥ Singapore is the only country where Yakult also comes in grape, apple and orange flavours. The presenter was telling us not to complain about why there are only 4 flavours as Singapore is already fortunate enough to have 3 more flavours.

♥ Singapore is also the only country whereby mini straws are provided in the Yakult pack. I don't use the straws and I find it a waste of plastic. Even though there are many people who don't use the straws, there are still about 80% of people who do according to a survey that Yakult conducted in Singapore.

♥ Yakult can be drunk at any time of the day though it is more effective to drink Yakult during or after meals when your stomach is less acidic, so even more of the Yakult bacteria can reach your intestines alive.

♥ It is not a problem to keep Yakult outside of the fridge for awhile. The Yakult bacteria slowly become active at temperature between 15 to 40 degrees Celsius. It will begin to produce lactic acid, which will affect the taste and make it sour. When there is too much acid produced, the bacteria will die, and the product will be less effective though drinkable still.

[Credit]


 photo blogseparatorflowersmall.gif


~*New Year's Eve -- Department Healthy Day*~

While most people work for half a day on NYE, the boss of my department would declare NYE as a healthy day cum department cohesion. While 2012 NYE was spent walking the trails in the Botanic Gardens, 2013 NYE was spent trekking the Southern Ridges.

 photo IMG_9731e.jpg

 photo IMG_9733e.jpg


No fishing...

 photo IMG_9735e.jpg


My boss was very cute. When he saw Courtesy Lion, he asked for somebody with camera phone to snap a picture for him. So I did. I also sent the picture to the department Whatsapp thread and some of my co-workers who did not join us for the walk remarked that it was a cute picture.

 photo IMG_9736e.jpg


Everybody loves Courtesy Lion so here we are with Singa the Courtesy Lion to mark the end of the walk.

 photo IMG_9737e.jpg


The only males in the department pitted themselves against each other in a game of "soccer".

 photo IMG_9740e.jpg


Whatever calories we burnt during the morning walk were replaced with more calories from the Korean BBQ lunch after that. It was the end-of-year lunch for the department and also a farewell lunch for one of our colleagues who would be joining another division.

 photo IMG_9775e.jpg


I really love to eat Korean side dishes.

 photo collageNYE1.jpg


Beef wasn't included in the ala carte buffet and my table of beef-lovers who sat together for an agenda had to order the different types of beef separately. They were all so darn tender, juicy and tasty.

 photo collageNYE2.jpg


TL & TR: The pork was good too though I still preferred beef.
BL: The fish was overfried and hard.
BR: Great tasting beef soup.

 photo collageNYE3.jpg


Heart-shaped water melon to end the meal.

 photo IMG_9774e.jpg


The last major walking in my Asics.

 photo IMG_9776e.jpg


 photo blogseparatorflowersmall.gif


Some random updates of 2014


The past week hadn't been going well for me. I was trying very hard to alter my habits and adopt a healthier lifestyle. Some of you have followed me through my insomniac periods and know how I often lack sleep. Some of you also know about my plaguing gastrointestinal issues.

For the past week, I had been really exhausted both mentally and physically. I came home from work feeling so tired that I could only eat my dinner, suffer from tummy ache, shower and then drift off to sleep before midnight. This is the first time in the week that I'm at my desk, on my laptop doing proper constructive stuff (like blogging... lol).

Over the months, I have gradually gotten used to the gastrointestinal pain but for the past few week, the pains were back to the prolong intense ones which lasted throughout the night till the next morning. There was one night when I was jolted out of my sleep covered in cold sweat even though the air con was blasting. I was having spasms and such intense cramps in the tummy that I actually groaned so loudly and woke the hubz up. When he did his usual placing of his warm comforting hand on my tummy, I screamed in pain and pushed his hand away. Accompany the pain was the white-out that I sometimes experience, followed by wave of nausea. Aside from the pain, I seemed to be having IBS as I'm going to the loo more frequently.

Tonight's tummy pain is manageable. There was some pain after dinner but it is subsiding as I'm typing this. Let's hope everything would be back to the normal bearable pain from now on. *fingers crossed*

21 comments:

  1. Oh no, you're part of the dark side!!! :)
    I was going to ask what was in the 3 pop-top cans...I guess it was the seafood spread. I take a probiotic capsule whenever I have to take an antibiotic...so my digestive track stays sane(ish). Was the group allowed in the aseptic room or was that off-limits to avoid contamination? The barbeque looks good. Once a month I take my staff on a mini-field trip instead of having a staff meeting that week. The weather hasn't co-operated recently, but we'll get back on track soon.
    That's awful about the pain. Do certain foods make it worse? I hope you find relief!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's always fun to be on the dark side. I love jumping from side to side. Yeap, the 3 cans were tuna and seafood spread. I'm taking probiotics by the packet now. I don't like those plastic-tasting capsules. I hope yours tastes ok. We were not allowed into any of the rooms. That's really nice of you to take your staff on field trips. That's the kind of superior people would like! I can't find any correlation between the types of food and the pain. Only the timing of the day.

      Delete
  2. The food makes me so hungry! Even though I just ate lunch haha. But that's so funny that you color-coordinated--my chemistry table at school always does that on accident too!

    The process looks so interesting--glad you got to take a peek into that! Those gardens are equisite too. I'm so sorry to hear about your health. Please feel better soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanx for dropping by and for your concern. It is always fun to see spontaneous matching! I'm sure it is always a pleasant thing seeing the colour coordination!

      Delete
  3. Well, starting at the end, wishing you healing of a quick and total nature and, at the very least, relief.

    Your company outing looked very cool. I like checking out factories and seeing how things are made. I once went to the Boeing plant in Seattle and toured where they make jumbo jets. That blew my mind.

    Wonderful shot that one with your shoes, by the way :)

    Oh and that outdoor set of shots! What a lush, fun place. I so want to be the courtesy lion's best friend. Your boss is such a good sport. Like your Affliction shirt too. Very cool and edgy. The color-coded people shots were hilarious.

    Wonderful post with so much cool stuff :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanx, Rick. You're always so sweet. I sure wish to check out a Boeing plant too! That's must have been really fascinating. Courtesy Lion was everyone's best friend when we were in primary school and then some people also criticized the fact that we needed a mascot for courtesy campaign. Gee... I like my Affliction Tee too. It's my most expensive Tee ever esp when in the past, I don't believe in spending so much for T-shirts.

      Delete
  4. Jo! I always love your photos! You have such fun adventures :D Also, I am dying for Korean BBQ! That looked devine! haha. Yes, also I did follow you in Instagram! ^__^b

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad that you're back from your busy-ness. Don't leave your readers ever again! lol

      Delete
  5. This looks really interesting, It would be cool to go and see all of that and learn how they make the cultures and stuff. Super post doll. I hope you have a great week xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love factory tours too. I've alays enjoyed learning how things are made!

      Delete
  6. nice photos and so interesting... looks like you had a great day :)

    It’s a GIRL Thing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanx for dropping by blog. Love seeing newcomers here. =)

      Delete
  7. Hi Jo! How cool is the Yakult factory, I would like to visit it too since I often drink it and I find very good for health. Your photos always make me smile. Im sorry for your tummy ache..I can get you since I suffer of it too sometimes so the best thing I do is massagine it and prepare a hot water bag. Hope you get well dear, kisses! xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You drink Yakult too? Yay... I don;t usually hear of people from European countries drinking Yakult somehow. Ah, yes I remember you also suffer from tummyache pretty often. You take care too! =)

      Delete
  8. I'm worried about your stomach Jo. This has been going on for so long. Have you been to the doctor or professional? It just doesn't seem normal. I really like the way your boss promotes a healthy lifestyle for his employees. I always enjoyed visiting or rather taking tours of industries to see how they operate. You can learn so much and it sounds like a great product. Love the picture of everyone with the lion. Too Cute!
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Kim. Thanx for your concern. Yup, I've been to a specialist actually and I did a Barium scan. The scan did not pick up anything abnormal. I found out from the specialist that it's very common to have chronic gastrointestinal problems that some people suffer for life. He did not recommend going for more invasive tests since my weight and overall health isn't deteriorating to be suspected as something really bad. So I shall take it as I'm having chronic gastrointestinal problems.

      I love factory tours too as I enjoy learning more about how things are made or how things work. Those always intrigue me. Courtesy Lion made everything cuter!

      Delete
  9. The yakult factory looks like such a fun place to visit! We sell it here in England too =)

    Corinne x
    www.skinnedcartree.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't really hear of people in European countries drinking Yakult. Do you drink Yakult?

      Delete
  10. So nice to know more about Yakult, since I have fond memories of drinking it during my childhood! It's fascinating to see the cultures grown in that dish, haha.
    Seeing KBBQ just now has really sparked a craving for it...IT'S YOUR FAULT.
    (I agree with Kim--have you seen a doc/professional? That kind of chronic pain needs to be checked, no matter the expenses :( )

    Vanessa | Citron and Guavaberry ʘ‿ʘ | Makeup & Silly things

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You drink Yakult when you were a child? Why don't you drink it anymore? You should as it is so full of yummy goodness. Hahaha... I hope you settle your Korean BBQ craving soon!

      Thanx for your concern, Vanessa. To repeat what I told Kim, I've been to a specialist actually and I did a Barium scan. The scan did not pick up anything abnormal. I found out from the specialist that it's very common to have chronic gastrointestinal problems that some people suffer for life. He did not recommend going for more invasive tests since my weight and overall health isn't deteriorating to be suspected as something really bad. So I shall take it as I'm having chronic gastrointestinal problems.

      Delete
  11. Good selection of the topic, really appreciate it

    ReplyDelete

I love reading sincere comments and hearing your voice. While blatant self promotion of blogs and follow for follow requests are not advisable, I would love if you leave a mark here with a trackback link so that I could connect with you. I reply to comments here or on your blog so don't forget to check back on replies! =)

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...