By Abu-Francis Ben Fabela
TEN YEARS ago, when we were finishing our thesis, we ended up late from lab after washing hundreds of Petri plates. On our way back home, we would always gaze at the night sky and wonder about God’s magnificence. Sometimes it appeared bleak and cloudy; sometimes glittered by stars and a smiling moon. We would then ask ourselves: where could we be after 10 years? Many of us are still in our field in manufacturing, auditing, food service, and even food business. In each of those, there lies both challenge and demand. So, if you are an FT stud who seems to worry of your future, pass your FT subjects, be gutsy and persevere.
My first employment was as shift manager at Jollibee. Working in QSR was really exhausting physically but it was also fun and exciting. It was like jogging and brisk walking all day. Not to mention the mind bugling decision-making while managing the shift. The job was more on application and execution since all products had already been standardized by “headquarters”. That time, I longed so much to find work that was mainstream application. And so I seized an opportunity to move on.
After working in a very hectic environment, I moved on to a quiet and laid-back environment of Saudi Arabia as QA analyst. The plant manufacturing burger patties was highly automated, from meat preparation to packing. Not to mention the IQF system in a spiral blast freezer and spiral steam cooker, fryer, all in a conveyor system, just like those video clips shown in TV and several times tackled in our course. I enjoyed this experience of working professionally. We were also the pioneer team that set up the QA department, QA lab and ISO 22000 certification. It was challenging enough to brain storm with colleagues on the sampling plans, relevant test parameters to use, etc. With colleagues within the department coming from different disciplines, joggling ideas/experiences with the best, and formulating practical solutions to problems, were all part of a normal day work. At times, there would be bickering and heated debates, but these trained us to be tough. Our team was composed mostly Filipinos, where being brainy was really quite common, I believe many can relate to what I’m saying, lol.
Singapore is where I am now. So far, I could say, work has been bitter-sweet, and is a combination actually of my past work experiences. I work in a medium-scale manufacturing company as Food Technologist. It is where managing and technical knowledge are combined to end up with a tasty tender juicy hotdog, coldcuts and pizza toppings. At first, I was overwhelmed by the responsibilities, from selection of janitorial equipment like mop handle to representing the company at HACCP and government audits. From time to time, challenges arise from the boss’ fickle mind insisting that we come up with a new or better product by tomorrow, customer complaints, staff melodramas, and suppliers bragging about their products. Entertaining the suppliers has been educational as they promote new trends in the industry; and so I never decline a supplier seeking an appointment. An advantage working in a medium-sized company like ours is that I get to be exposed to all aspects of food technology – R&D, QA, management and even auditing. As our company also has pizza subsidiary island wide, I do not only formulate the monthly variant but I also visit the stores and do auditing. This is my time to audit others as I am also audited in the plant. Ha ha ha, sweet revenge, though. But all of these do not come in a bed of roses always; at times there are tsunamic problems to hurdle, making me wanting to pack up but of course I have to get into my senses, stop whining and “just do it”. After all this is our field, I love it and I am endlessly learning from it.
As I just walk to and from the work place from home, I sometimes gaze at the night sky, mutter a prayer to the Creator, and ask myself: where will I be in the next 10 years? Hmmmmm, imagination is endless as our opportunity in the industry is as many as the different foods in the grocery store. ■
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