As South Africa faces livestock health issues, Japan Expo presents potential food production innovations
As South Africa navigates the challenges posed by the ongoing foot-and-mouth disease crisis, which has raised concerns about livestock health and potential increases in meat prices, the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo showcases innovations that could influence the future of food production.
Attendees can explore groundbreaking technologies such as regenerated rice and 3D printed meat, which may offer insights into sustainable food solutions that could be relevant to countries facing similar agricultural challenges.
Beyond their delicious taste, some foods offer high nutritional value and practical solutions for issues such as food shortages and allergies.
Leading companies and research institutions are introducing a wide variety of those foods and announcing groundbreaking achievements that will shape the future of food.
Multi-coloured rice
Inside the "Evolving Frozen Foods" showcase at the Earth Mart pavilion, conceptualised by broadcasting writer Kundo Koyama, visitors will find a colourful assortment of green, yellow and red "regenerated rice."
Ingredients such as rice, vegetables, meat and eggs are frozen and then crushed into a powder. The powder is reshaped into rice grains for easy consumption. There are a variety of flavours made through the combination of ingredients. One of the flavours is called "salad rice," while another is named "takana fried rice flavoured rice." Another flavour is "family rice," inspired by oyakodon, which is a bowl of rice topped with chicken and eggs.
Prof Hidemitsu Furukawa of Yamagata University developed regenerated rice in cooperation with Nichirei Foods Inc., a major frozen food company based in Tokyo.
Although conventional methods for pulverising ingredients rely on heat or desiccation, the drawback has been the accompanying loss of moisture and aroma. However, the team successfully created powdered ingredients while preserving their original moisture and aroma by instantaneously freezing them using liquid nitrogen.
They said that adjusting the blending ratio enables precise control over taste, aroma and nutritional value.
"This approach allows for the use of agricultural produce discarded after a harvest that doesn't reach the market, leading to a reduction in food loss and waste. It also supports farmers," Furukawa said.
Tomoko Kadoya, 64, from Kanazawa, looked at the regenerated rice and said, "I'm surprised and thrilled that such food will be available in the near future. I am curious to try it and find out what it tastes like."
3D printed meat
The Osaka Healthcare Pavilion, presented by Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City, is enticing the public with the prospect of making meat at home by 2050. Visitors can view 3D printed cultured meat.
In 2023, the University of Osaka and companies such as Kyoto-based Shimadzu Corp. created a joint venture called the Consortium for Future Innovation by Cultured Meat. The consortium aims to commercialise technology that cultivates muscle and fat cells harvested from wagyu beef and processes them to create meat with a 3D printer.
Pavilion visitors can look at two pieces of cultured meat, each 9 centimeters long and 15 centimeters wide, at the booth. They were produced over about six months.
The ratio of lean to fatty parts can be adjusted to create marbled meat, with one of the pieces having a checkerboard pattern made with the lean and fatty sections.
According to Michiya Matsusaki, a professor at the University of Osaka and the consortium's representative, they are close to reproducing the flavour and texture of marbled meat. During the Expo's period, they plan to grill the cultured meat at an event, allowing visitors to smell its aroma.
"I can't even imagine what it tastes like," said a fifth-grade elementary school student from Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture. "I wonder if we'll be eating it regularly when I grow up," the student added curiously.
Rice flour soft serve cones
Visitors are flocking to eat innovative dairy-free soft serve ice cream and cones which are made without egg or wheat.
Nissei Co. developed the dessert. The firm, based in Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, is a manufacturer and distributor of soft serve related products. Beans make up the cream of the soft serve and the cones are made from rice flour.
Five flavours, including vanilla, matcha and strawberry, are available for 700 yen each at the Osaka Healthcare Pavilion. Commercialisation, however, presents challenges such as costs, according to the company.
'Eating soft serve is often a joyful experience. We want to create a future where everyone can enjoy it,' said a project leader from the company, outlining the project's goal.
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