Japan's has released a new instant ramen flavour, and it’s raising eyebrows for several reasons.
For starters, this new edition takes its cues from fast food. Going further than its standard and flavours, the brand's latest release is topped with none other than chicken nuggets and French fries. It's called – ‘potenage’ is a , the word for nuggets.
Once you add the boiling water, the dried ingredients inflate and expand into chicken-nugget-and-French-fry bits that are, surprisingly, edible. Scrambled egg and green onion are also in the mix, and the surrounding soy sauce broth is heavily seasoned with black pepper. Sounds … weird.
the manufacturer of Cup Noodles, is no stranger to creating bizarre foods: the company once teamed up with Pringles to create , and in an attempt to merge American and Japanese fast foods, made ramen.
The world’s love for instant noodles knows no bounds; there’s even an entire dedicated to the phenomenon in Japan. And while they’re often the go-to snack for anyone in need of a quick fix, some instant-noodle packets contain a worrying amount of unethical palm oil.
Data from , an advocacy group fighting to protect rainforests, wildlife and communities, shows that Nissin is one of the “Big Four” food-product companies that “have unprecedented access to rainforest-safe, responsibly sourced palm oil,” but is yet to commit “to ending the purchase of palm oil from deforestation, carbon-rich peatland destruction or community exploitation".
It's something Australians should be aware of, given our big appetite for instant ramen. In 2013, the Japan-based placed when it came to global instant noodle consumption. We add hot water to 350 million servings a year.
And while they’re often the go-to snack for anyone in need of a quick fix, some instant-noodle packets contain a worrying amount of unethical palm oil.
And while palm oil isn’t inherently harmful, . As demand for palm oil around the world grows (or demand for products like chicken-nugget instant noodles rises), more land in countries like Indonesia and is converted, often at the expense of . Palm oil puts the ‘instant’ in instant noodles – it’s used to , so all you have to do is pour boiling water over them.
Now for some good news: Nissin submitted an for a Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) membership in September last year, which would see the company complying with a number of measurements for sustainably sourcing the ingredient. “The Nissin Foods Group procures raw materials produced in consideration of the sustainability of the art and environment, mitigating the burden on the environment (preventing deforestation and global warming, etc), conserving limited resources, and maintaining the ecosystem (preventing overexploitation, conserving biodiversity, etc),” the policy reads.
Nevertheless, next time you’re craving a snack, it might be better to opt for a banana instead – no one really needs chicken-nugget noodles.
