From energy drinks to self-heating instant noodles: Food technology supports modern fast-paced lifestyles.

Currently, the market is flooded with various nutritional supplements and tonics to relieve fatigue and improve health. Sales of these oral liquids far exceed those of cold and gastrointestinal medications, making them a staple in the mass market and a cash cow for pharmacies. Stimulated by this situation, pharmaceutical companies are constantly launching new drugs, and pharmacies offer a wide variety of such medications. Small-packaged oral liquids, in particular, are growing rapidly at a rate of 20% to 30% annually, reaching a market size of 50 billion yen. If 100ml oral liquids are included, the market size reaches 110 billion yen.

Developing a new drug typically takes over 10 years and costs billions of yen. However, oral liquids can be commercialized as long as their ingredients are deemed safe. Therefore, it is expected that more companies will enter this field in the future. In Japan, the history of oral liquids dates back to the early 1960s. At that time, pharmaceutical companies in the Kansai region advertised on television how to drink nutritional liquids packaged in ampoules using straws and began selling them. From 1965 to 1970, it reached a period of rapid development; it could be said that anything produced could be sold.

Therefore, not only pharmaceutical manufacturers but also food and grocery manufacturers entered this field. However, between 1965 and 1975, a series of shock and death incidents involving cold medicine packaged in ampoules became a significant social problem. At that time, there were no regulations for oral liquids; they could be sold anywhere and their efficacy could be labeled. However, due to the emergence of substandard products, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, based on the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law, stipulated that oral liquids classified as pharmaceuticals and refreshing beverages classified as nutritional drinks should be distinguished.

Furthermore, regulations stipulated that oral liquids could only be sold in designated locations such as pharmacies, while soft drinks could be sold in vending machines at train stations or anywhere else, but could not claim to have tonic or strengthening effects (such as containing vitamins). At that time, oral liquids, as pharmaceuticals, were mainly sold in 100ml containers. In 1978, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare recommended that pharmaceutical oral liquids be sold in smaller 30-50ml containers to differentiate them from soft drinks; therefore, new products were all miniaturized. Oral liquids can be broadly classified into three types: nutritional tonics, strengthening and invigorating, and medicinal.

Nutritional and tonic type. The first to be launched was "Kyunlosonic Acid Powerful Oral Solution" produced by Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., followed by "New Vitamin B₁V" from Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and medicines produced by Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Sankyo Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., each of which sold very well. Strengthening and improving physical fitness. "Huangdi Liquid" produced by Sato Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., through extensive advertising, created a sensation in the market. Among all the strengthening and improving physical fitness oral solutions, "Huangdi Liquid" can be said to have the largest sales volume, accounting for half of Sato Pharmaceutical's total sales.

This type of oral liquid is formulated with expensive Chinese herbs such as ginseng, and its "strengthening and health-enhancing" effects have a strong psychological impact, so many are quite expensive, with some costing as much as 3,000 yen per bottle. It is a medicinal type. Currently approved oral liquids include cold and cough medicines. In the future, it is unlikely that any oral liquids other than mild gastrointestinal medications will be approved. Recently, "FIBEMINI," which contains added dietary fiber, has also sold very well, but it is not a medicine and is classified as a soft drink.

Some oral liquids and soft drinks also contain small amounts of ethanol. However, experiments have shown that even such a small amount of ethanol can affect the vision of 30% of people sensitive to alcohol. There are cases of traffic accidents caused by taking oral liquids, so drivers must pay attention to safety when driving. The history of instant noodles began in 1958 with the development of "Chicken Soup Noodles" by Nissin Foods. First, Chinese noodles were divided into individual portions and fried in oil to alpha-alloy the starch (making it easier to digest after heating), then soaked in chicken broth, and finally packaged to become "Chicken Soup Noodles".

Because these noodles only need to be cooked in a pot for 2-3 minutes, their convenience was revolutionary, and they quickly became a popular food. Subsequently, many manufacturers followed suit, producing a wide variety of instant noodles, including salted, soy sauce-flavored, non-fried (dried with hot air instead of frying), and those with added seasonings. Nissin Foods launched cup-packaged egg noodles in 1971, which can be considered the second generation of instant noodles. The advantage of cup-packaged noodles over the previous bagged noodles was that they didn't require a pot, making them even more convenient and popular.

In its first year on the market, it sold 4 million servings, and sales skyrocketed to 400 million servings in its second year. Many manufacturers entered the market and began competing. Now, cup noodles have become the mainstream instant noodle product in Japan. It can be said that instant noodles have become a staple food in Japan. Production in 1988 reached 457 million servings, equivalent to each Japanese person consuming 38 servings of instant noodles per year. In 1989, Nissin Foods began selling its third-generation instant noodle, "SUPER BOIL," a type of instant noodle that can be heated and boiled before consumption.

Heating these instant noodles is very simple. First, open the lid of the tea-shaped container, add water to the marked line inside the container, just like with cup noodles. Take the red igniter from the plastic bag, open the bottom cover, insert the igniter into the center of the container, and turn it clockwise 2-3 times to quickly heat the noodles inside. After ignition, it will boil in just 5 minutes. It is fast, can heat continuously at high temperatures, and is safe, making it an essential food for travelers. Nissin Foods will soon develop other convenient foods that can be heated quickly, such as rice, stewed meat, or stewed fish.

Flexible canned food was developed in the 1950s by a U.S. Army research institute in collaboration with civilian sectors, as military rations. Based on research into the packaging materials and safety testing, this type of canned food can also be used as space food. The flexible can packaging bag consists of three layers: an inner polyolefin film, a middle aluminum foil layer, and an outer polyester film layer. The food is placed in this flexible packaging bag, sealed, and then sterilized in an autoclave at a temperature above 100°C. JAS (Japanese Agricultural Standards) states that the sealing performance and barrier properties against water, light, and air of this flexible can are the same as those of canned food.

Japan first introduced this type of resealable canned food in 1968 by a pharmaceutical company, and has now become the world's largest producer. Compared to canned food, resealable cans have thinner packaging, shorter heat sterilization time, resulting in less change in flavor during cooking, better quality, and easier reheating. The packaging is also cheaper, lighter, softer, and easier to carry, and no opening tools are needed for consumption, offering numerous advantages. Dried compressed foods, also known as compressed foods, were developed in the United States for space or military use to overcome the shortcomings of freeze-dried foods.

The process of making dried foods involves stopping the freeze-drying process when the food's moisture content reaches 10%–30%, then heating to achieve moisture equilibrium, compressing, and finally drying thoroughly. Compared to conventional freeze-dried foods, dried foods produced in this way have advantages such as shorter drying time, smaller volume during transportation and storage, and less susceptibility to breakage. Furthermore, the quality of compressed foods is not inferior to that of typical freeze-dried foods. Currently, a wide variety of dried foods are commercially available, ranging from raw materials such as vegetables like spinach and green peas, grains, and fruits, to processed foods like fried meatballs, stewed beef, and pudding.