Trip to the Yakult Factory

Assalamualaikum and Hi Dr Wan and Dr Fairol! :)
I'm glad that we have the chance to write reflective journal about our trip to the Yakult factory. As I am very excited to tell you about my trip to the Yakult factory.

The moment when Dr Fairol announced that we are going to have a trip to Yakult factory, my heart leap with joy as I can feel that this trip will benefit so much to me and also I can get new experience visiting a manufacturing factory such as Yakult. After many ups and downs discussing the perfect time for us to visit the Yakult, we all agree to make this trip happen on 16th May 2016. It is Teacher's Day by the way.

Thanks Dr Fairol for being able to come with us :)

On 16th May 2016, we all gathered at Biotech 1 before boarding into the bus. We all have to gather at 8.00 am as the bus will board at 8.30am. By this we can come back before noon. The journey took only 45 minutes. Upon reaching the Yakult factory, I feel very exhilarated as I have never been to a factory before. When we reached the factory, we saw a group of students from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) also coming to visit the factory. We reached there at about 9.30am.

Yeay! Naik bas baru! Haha

Once we have enter the building, we were directed into a hall. At there, we were given a talk about this Yakult factory. What I have learned from that talk are;

1. Yakult uses bacteria Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain as proteobacteria (good bacteria) in yakult.
2. The founder of the proteobacteria Lactobacillus is Dr Minoru Shirota.
3. Probiotics is a live, good bacteria consumed in large numbers to improve the balance of good bacteria in our intestines. It also must be scientifically proven beneficial for health.

Free gift

As we are so busy with our modern lifestyle, we forgot to take care of our health. The balance of good and bad bacteria in our intestines are disturbed when we:

• don't have healthy eating habits
• are stressed
• get older
• take medicines (antibiotics)
• have infections / food poisoning

When the balance in our body is disturbed, we are going to suffer from diarrhea, constipation, bloated stomach, skin problems, weak immune system and many more may occur. Thus, in order to keep balance of good bacteria in our intestines we must consume probiotics daily.

 Probiotics are important as it:

• Improve bowel movement (avoid constipation, diarrhea)
• Maintain balance of good and bad bacteria 
• Reduce toxins in our body
• Boost immune system (reduce risk of infection & occurrence of cancer cells)

After listening to the lecture for about half an hour, we started our tour around the factory. We were only allowed to see the machine and processing of yakult through the glass window. 

We were also not allow to take photos or videos of the inside factory. Thus, I cannot show any pictures from inside the factory. But overall, I can see the process of fermenting until the process of packaging of yakult.

Overall, I feel satisfied with this trip. I feel happy because now I know how yakult is made. I love this trip because it is fun and interesting. I'm looking forward for more trip next time. :)

Thanks Dr Fairol, love ya! :)