CONTRIBUTION

Momofuku Ando contributes to the world by bringing revolution to global culinary

culture. He discovered the new method to keep food preserve for a long time
without using preservative material. As a postwar civilian, Ando come up a set of
criteria for the perfect postwar food. It had to be tasty nonperishable, ready in less
than three minutes, economical, safe and healthy. Now, instant noodle not only help
those victim disaster, instant noodle also become the food for spacemen.
CHICKEN RAMEN
The technology of CHICKEN RAMEN developed by
Momofuku Ando after spent a year trying to preserve
ramen noodles without success; the texture of the
rehydrated noodles was never right. But one day, the
story goes, he threw some noodles into the tempura oil
wife had heated to make dinner, only to discover that
frying not only dehydrated the noodles, but also created
tiny perforations that made them cook more quickly. In
humble shed behind his home, Ando discovered method
involved rapidly drying noodles through flash-frying in
After long journey, instant noodles were born. This
method became the basis for all instant noodle production.

his

a
oil.

When Chikin Ramen, Andos first product, hit the shelves in 1958, the Japanese
public initially saw it as a luxury product. But consumers quickly embraced the
convenience of making ramen at home, and sales took off. Instant ramen became a
staple food in Japan, and other companies entered the market.

CUP NOODLE
Ando, in turn, looked for international customers. Undaunted by
the American consumers ignorance of ramen and even
chopsticks, Ando declared to let them eat it with forks. On a
business trip to the United States in 1966, Ando had his next
great idea. Ando was demonstrating his product to supermarket
executives in Los Angeles when he observed them repurposing
their Styrofoam coffee cups as ramen bowls. Intrigued, Ando
replicated these makeshift containers for a new product, which
took five more years to develop.
His revolutionary "CUP NOODLE " concept in which a single container serves as
packaging, cooking vessel and serving dish was the basis for cup-type instant
noodles. When "CUP NOODLE debuted in 1971, they were an immediate

sensation. Nissin, Andos company, has now sold more than 20 billion units. Instant
ramen packaged in its very own heat-resistant containerwhat could be more
convenient?

Contributing to industry development

In 1964, Momofuku Ando established the Japan Convenience Foods Industry
Association to promote the growth of the instant noodle industry. Through the
Association, he contributed to guidelines for fair
competition and product quality, including the
establishment of food certification standards for
instant ramen under the Japanese Agricultural
Standards (JAS). He was also a very early
pioneer of manufacturing date labeling. In
1997, he was appointed as the inaugural
Chairman
of
the
International
Ramen
Manufacturers Association (Now the World Instant Noodles Association).

Ando Foundation
In 1983, Momofuku Ando inspired to developed healthy education of young people,
he decide to use funds from his personal fortune to establish the Ando Foundation.

Momofuku Ando Day

Understanding that ramen has been a staple food for victims of disaster and the
poverty-stricken, as well as for college students and those wanting a quick meal,
Momofuku Ando Day became an endeavor to help feed those in need by fundraising
for charitable organizations, or simply calling attention to poverty or hunger through
ramen or food donations to local food banks and free meal kitchens. The day has
since been celebrated the second Friday of January to allow Mr. Ando due
recognition.

ACHIEVEMENT
Space Ramen
Pursuing his long held dream to invent a ramen that can be eaten in space,
Momofuku started work on Space Ramen the first noodles to be consumed in outer
space. Space Ramen is based on the hot oil instant drying method that Momofuku
invented in 1958 along with applying various
techniques based on technology developed over
many years, including systems to prevent the
noodles and soup from escaping in zero gravity.
After NASA's stringent quality and safety check, the
product was carried into space by Japanese
astronaut Soichi Noguchi aboard the Space Shuttle
Discovery in July 2005. With Space Ramen,
Momofuku's creative thinking transcended the
bounds of earth to contribute to creating food that people can eat even in space.
Now, instant noodle carried his ideals into space.

Google Doodle
In 2015, Google placed a doodle
on
their
main
web
page
commemorating his birthday on
March
5
to
remember
his
contribution to global culinary
concept.