Food Innovation & Resource Centre

Ready-to-heat meals are becoming a staple for many of us—especially with busy schedules and the demand for convenience. But how do they fit into a balanced diet?🍴

SP Food Innovation & Resource Centre (FIRC) Lead Nutritionist, Carolyn Stephen, recently shared on Talking Point the health impacts of frequent consumption of Ready-to-heat (RTH) meals. While convenient, these meals often contain high levels of calories, saturated fats, and sodium—raising risks of high cholesterol, hypertension, and weight gain. To boost , she recommends adding fresh vegetables like fibre-rich salads along with protein-packed nuts and seeds to provide nutritional balance. Her advice: choose healthier RTH meals that are available today and not too often!

Beyond consumer habits, the industry is shifting too. With stronger emphasis on healthier formulations, including Nutrigrade labelling and growing demand for lower-sodium and lower-fat formulations. Consumers are now prioritising healthier convenience options and expecting manufacturers to offer products that align with these nutritional preferences.

At FIRC, we support manufacturers in reformulating to meet nutritional targets while ensuring taste, texture, and shelf-life remain intact. Connect with us to explore how we can support your next healthier product innovation!

📺 Watch the full episode on Talking Point: Ep 22 Ready to Heat Meals: How Often Should We Eat Them? -
https://www.mewatch.sg/watch/Talking-Point-2025-26-E22-Ready-to-Heat-Meals-How-Often-Should-We-Eat-Them-570202

SP Food Innovation & Resource Centre (FIRC) was delighted to host representatives from Singapore Food Agency and our local fish farmers for a sharing session at our centre.

During the visit, we shared how FIRC supports companies in product innovation, process development, and technical validation to drive food innovation in Singapore.

FoodPlant also presented their capabilities, showcasing how both centres complement each other — with FIRC focusing on R&D and prototype development, and FoodPlant providing pilot-scale manufacturing and scale-up support.

It is important to strengthen Singapore’s food ecosystem by empowering local producers to bridge the gap between innovation and commercialisation, supporting their growth and long-term competitiveness.

📈 🚀 From wet market to thriving e-shop, Tankfully Fresh is a powerful example of how innovation can transform traditional businesses.

With support from Enterprise Singapore, Tankfully Fresh was connected to the SP Food Innovation & Resource Centre (FIRC) at Singapore Polytechnic. Our team provided guidance on manufacturing processes, moisture control, and food safety best practices — helping to transform their heritage Crispy Salted Fish Flakes into a product with commercial potential and a longer shelf life.

We’re glad to support SMEs in their innovation journey and take their ideas closer to market readiness.

👉 Read the full Straits Times feature here: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/wet-market-digital-transformation-tankfully-fresh-for-where-you-are-growing-enterprise-singapore

💡 If you’re looking to innovate or bring your food ideas to market, connect with us at FIRC to explore how we can support your journey.

From wet market to thriving e-shop: ‘We were happy selling 200kg of fish a day, but now we can do even more’ With Enterprise Singapore’s support, this young couple digitalised the family’s ageing fish business. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

[Complimentary Online Webinar]

Join us for an insightful webinar designed to help food manufacturers understand and prepare for the extension of measures to key contributors of and saturated fat, which will take effect from mid-2027.

What to Expect:
✔️ Understand how the new Nutri-Grade measure will impact various product categories and stakeholders
✔️ Gain practical insights into technical strategies for lower sauces, pastes, soups, and blends
✔️ Learn how to assess content of your products and how they are graded under the new Nutri-Grade measure, with guidance and example shared
✔️ Discover available grant support for developing healthier food products

Whether you're looking to improve your product's nutritional profile, explore innovation opportunities, or stay compliant with future requirements—this session will provide the knowledge and tools to get started.

📋 Click to Register:
https://lnkd.in/gMRN5rZa
🗓️ Date : 3 September 2025 (Wednesday)
🕘 Time : 2PM to 3PM
📍 Location : Online Webinar (link will be sent closer to event date)

Automation SolutionGO! x RINC 2025 | 30 – 31 July
Talent Development | Business Growth | Technology Adoption

Singapore Polytechnic (SP), in partnership with AutomationSG, are privileged to co-host Automation SolutionGO! and the Regional Industry Networking Conference (RINC) 2025, welcoming over 500 industry leaders, IHLs, and government agencies to explore how technologies like AI, IoT, and Digital Twin—are accelerating transformation across sectors.

With the growing momentum of the Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), the concept of Digital Twin is fast becoming reality—empowering local enterprises to scale their operations across borders with confidence.

At the event, Food Innovation Resource Centre (FIRC), together with our Advanced Manufacturing Centre (AMC) , showcased our ‘X-Inspect’ AI-Vision Glass Bottle Inspection System—a AI-powered food safety solution designed to detect defects in packaging, enhances quality control, and reduce reliance on manual inspection in food manufacturing. A truly scalable system for companies ready to embark on automation and digitalisation!

Food companies keen to:
✅ Automate operations
✅ Monitor processes remotely
✅ Explore digital tools opportunities

📞 Connect with us at 6879 0634 or 📧 [email protected] to explore how we can support your productivity goals!

SME Centre Conference 2025 | 30 July
Driving Business Transformation & Growth through Partnerships

Now in its 12th edition, the SME Centre Conference 2025—organised by the SME Centres and supported by Enterprise Singapore—continues to serve as a vital platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to explore growth opportunities, forge strategic partnerships, and build resilience in a rapidly evolving business landscape.

Opening the conference, Mr Lennon Tan, President of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, addressed the impact of global economic shifts such as rising tariffs and supply chain disruptions. He emphasised that strategic partnerships are key to overcoming these challenges, enabling innovation, expanding market access, and driving sustainable growth for SMEs.

Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and Ministry of Trade and Industry, spoke to an audience of over 1,000 SME leaders and stakeholders. She reaffirmed the Government’s strong support for SMEs—through enhanced trade financing, supply chain resilience efforts, and new diagnostic tools to support internationalisation, digitalisation, and sustainability. She likened the current business environment as “a fast-flowing river with strong undercurrents,” and highlighted the need for businesses to move forward in partnership to share risk and unlock opportunity.

A highlight at SME Centre@SMF’s booth was the launch of ‘Little Union’, a new brand under Natural Fruits & Drinks Pte Ltd. Developed in partnership with the Food Innovation & Resource Centre (FIRC), this launch features a range of calamansi juice concentrates in exciting new flavours such as Forestberry, Sze Chuan Pepper, and Orchid—in celebration of SG60. This project showcases how purposeful partnerships can help forward-thinking SMEs transform their core offerings into distinctive, globally competitive products.

⏳ Last 2 Days to Register!

Join us for an exclusive session with the Food Manufacturing Centres of Innovation (FM-COIs) to explore exciting ways to create new food products from your existing and discover how packaging can strengthen your cost efficiency.

With all four Centres of Innovation coming together in one location, this engagement day offers you:

• Practical solutions to transform your side streams into high-value food products
• One-on-one consultations with the FM-COIs to explore sustainability opportunities tailored to your business
• Exclusive expert insights from Arup sustainability consultants on global trends, hashtag pressures, and consumer expectations shaping competitiveness and compliance for Singapore's food manufacturers
• A choice of focused workshops: & Concept Development or Sustainable Practices & Trends, both led by experienced technical experts

🔗 Register Now: https://form.gov.sg/681bf917adf25910846bf1b9
(Registration Fee: $20)
📅 Date: August 1, 2025 (Friday)
🕘 Time: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM
📍 Venue: Singapore Polytechnic, The Hall (Level 2) @ KKC Complex
🍽️ Networking lunch provided

Kindly Sponsored by: BASF
Jointly Presented by: Enterprise Singapore, Republic Polytechnic, SP Food Innovation & Resource Centre, Nanyang Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic

Join us for an exclusive session with the Food Manufacturing Centres of Innovation (FM-COIs) to explore exciting ways to create new food products from your existing and discover how packaging can strengthen your cost efficiency.

With all four Centres of Innovation coming together in one location, this engagement day offers you:

• Practical solutions to transform your side streams into high-value food products
• One-on-one consultations with the FM-COIs to explore sustainability opportunities tailored to your business
• Exclusive expert insights from Arup sustainability consultants on global trends, regulatory pressures, and consumer expectations shaping competitiveness and compliance for Singapore's food manufacturers
• A choice of focused workshops: & Concept Development or Sustainable Practices & hashtag Trends, both led by experienced technical experts


🔗 Register Now: https://form.gov.sg/681bf917adf25910846bf1b9
(Registration Fee: $20)
📅 Date: August 1, 2025 (Friday)
🕘 Time: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM
📍 Venue: Singapore Polytechnic, The Hall (Level 2) @ KKC Complex
🍽️ Networking lunch provided

Kindly Sponsored by: BASF
Jointly Presented by: Enterprise Singapore, Republic Polytechnic, SP Food Innovation & Resource Centre, Nanyang Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic

🍑 Love fruit tea? Join our 1-hour tasting session in SP next week
!
📅 10th, 11th, or 12th June 2025
📍 Singapore Polytechnic (exact location shared after sign-up)

We’re looking for panellists who are:
✅ Singaporean/PR
✅ Aged 18–30
✅ Drink fruit tea 2+ times/week for the past 3 months

🎁 Token of appreciation provided
📲 Scan the QR code to sign up!

Slots are limited — don’t miss your chance to take part in this fun and flavourful experience!