As South Africa faces livestock health issues, Japan Expo presents potential food production innovations
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
a day ago
- Daily Maverick
Indulging my Fowl Foot Fetish
Let chicken feet lead the way to budget-friendly, environmentally sustainable, healthy and delectable dining. I have a fowl foot fetish. I like to start chewing chicken feet between the toe joints. Then I work my way up and around, nibbling, sheering and sucking through umami-laden skin and tendons. Subtly spitting out bones, I gradually get to the instep's soft pad. Taste meets texture as the wrinkled, puffed skin surface gives way to a gelatinous, wiggly, shimmery, melty magnificence. In addition to being deeply delicious, chicken feet are also the healthy eater's choice. They deliver the holy trinity of bone-boosting minerals – calcium, magnesium and phosphorus – alongside amino acids such as glycine and proline. All of the above stimulate tissue regeneration. Osteoblast (bone-making cells) production, joint and gut health are further enhanced by the collagen found in clucker claws. About 70% of the protein therein is pure collagen, which not only supports healthy hair and nails, but also enhances skin hydration and helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Knowledge pertaining to the restorative powers of chicken feet is not new. In traditional Chinese medicine they are prized as a body-balancing elixir. Consumption is said to replenish 'jing' (foundational energy housed in the kidneys), stoke 'qi' (digestive fire) and nourish 'bu xue' (the joint-, bone- and blood-building essence vital for postpartum recovery). In South Africa, our indigenous healing philosophies are also enamoured with the extremity variously referred to as maotwana, amanqina enkukhu or runaways. Kempton Park-based Pedi traditional healer Makhosi Kamo Malatji observes: 'I had a patient who battled with knees, and I consulted an elder to ask what remedies to use. Their response was that in conjunction with sacred herbs the patient should consume cow heels and chicken feet to relieve bone and joint pain. It makes me sad how seldom such remedies are spoken of in our communities. This may stem from mental colonisation because chicken feet are often seen as a poverty meal.' Clearly, the cooking method plays a role in the health-providing properties of chicken feet. Simmered into soup, poultry paws release their nutritional blessings without adding excess fat or sodium, but deep frying in unhealthy unsaturated fats or smothering in super-salty, sweet, sour sauce will compromise the aforementioned advantages. There are also the health risks associated with greedy guzzling of chicken feet. They possess a labyrinth of teeny, tiny bones – each one a potential choking hazard for overenthusiastic eaters. Mindful munching is a must. I know this from painful personal experience. For those who can control the speed with which they eat, chicken feet are the perfect way to walk through the deliciously diverse possibilities of edible pleasure. Virtually every meat-eating culinary culture has a recipe for them. And I adore almost all of them. What follows are a few of my Johannesburg favourites… At Go Spicy on Rivonia Boulevard, Edenburg, beer and betting accompany shaokao Chinese barbeque. Poultry phalanges are served on skewers. The flame-grilled feet reward slow, persistent gnawing with bursts of smoky fat and spice-soaked skin. The warm glow of cumin and the sweet scents of fennel and star anise are followed by the power-packed, one-two punch of dried chilli and Sichuan peppercorns. At Shun De, Cyrildene Chinatown's premier dim sum hot spot for cool people, the menu romantically reclassifies chicken feet as 'phoenix talons'. Bathed in the bold, earthy, umami tang of black bean sauce, they are soft, slippery and slightly chewy. Korea Garden restaurant in Magaliessig serves stir-fried dalkbal; assertive and cracklingly crisp sinew meets spice, smoke and the smouldering heady heat of the gochujang fermented sauce. What Makhosi Kamo Malatji described as the stigma of past poverty is gradually evolving into nostalgia and pride. As chef and food influencer Mogau Seshoene (aka the Lazy Makoti) says: 'I love them for the fond childhood memories I have around them. My uncle used to make them for us, and I still use his recipe today. 'Once I grew up and I learnt about the benefits of their collagen content – and that it is so great for the skin – I obviously appreciated them even more. Also, we used to just eat nose to tail without thinking about it because that was what everyone did, but now that I understand the environmental benefits of that I am doubly grateful to my elders and the culinary lessons that we learnt from them. 'As Africans we often underestimate how healthy and sustainable our traditional ways were. There was no waste in those days. And also, how delicious! My uncle (and I do still) cooked them simply with a generous amount of hot curry. Must be hot. I then add some grated tomato and cook till soft until the meat is nice and soft. Then I eat them with some equally hot achar. Homemade is best but if I am in a hurry the Spar supermarket deli counters often make good ones.' Chef Absalom Kotsokoane of Salt Culinary Consulting agrees: 'Chicken feet are special for me. They remind me of the times we had with my grandmother, prepared slow cooked on a charcoal stove with a bit of curry. The spicier they are, the more delicious they are. They make lots of gravy which you can eat the next day with some nice ting (fermented sorghum porridge). 'I have done them sometimes for fancy functions roasted in a chutney, orange marinade that can be lovely with pap croquettes, but if I am at home I usually go with my granny's recipe. If I am on the road and I feel like traditional-style chicken feet, I love the ones made by Chef Andile Somdaka at Eziko in Midrand. There are also some great isgela grilled street food vendors in Sunnyside, Pretoria.' The poshest 'pattes de poulet' I ever ate were at the late, lamented Emazulwini restaurant in Cape Town where chef Mmabatho Molefe transformed amanqina enkukhu into a terrific terrine drizzled with amasi dressing. At chef Wandile Mabaso's Les Creatifs in Bryanston the super-stylish chicken consommé (served in an eggshell as an amuse bouche) owes its glorious, golden viscosity to the presence of fowl feet. So, whether you seek radiance or remembrance, nourishment or nostalgia, affordable healing or just an afternoon of epicurean indulgence, let chicken feet lead the way. Each bite or sip is an opportunity to taste time, honour tradition and find gastronomic glory in the often overlooked. The path to pleasure is not necessarily paved in prime cuts. The Lazy Makoti's Uncle's Chicken Foot Recipe (From The Lazy Makoti's Guide to the Kitchen) Serves 4; preparation time 10 minutes. Cooking time about 30 minutes 500g chicken feet 1 cup boiling water or chicken stock ½ teaspoon turmeric powder 1 teaspoon hot curry powder 1 tomato, grated Salt to taste Clean the feet. If you are feeling fancy you can trim the nails at the joint. Otherwise, leave the nails but rinse and if necessary, use a brush to remove dirt. Soak the feet in hot water (not boiling) for a few minutes to loosen the scales and skin. Remove the scales then peel off the outer yellowish skin starting from the top down. Put the feet into a pot with water or stock, turmeric, curry powder and tomato. Simmer over a medium heat until the feet are soft and the sauce is rich and thick, at least 30 minutes. Eat with pap and pleasure and hot atchar. DM
eNCA
3 days ago
- eNCA
Trump orders space regulations eased in win for Musk
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday easing regulations for the private space industry, including eliminating some environmental reviews, in a move likely to please his erstwhile advisor Elon Musk. The executive order, which said it aimed to "substantially" increase the number of space launches in the United States, was described by an environmental group as "reckless." Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has talked up several space missions including sending humans to the Moon and Mars. The Moon and Mars missions are planned to get a ride on the massive Starship rocket of Musk's private firm SpaceX. However, Starship has had a series of setbacks, with its latest routine test ending in a fiery explosion in June. AFP/File | TIMOTHY A. CLARY SpaceX dominates the global launch market, with its various-sized rockets blasting off more than 130 times last year - and that number looks set to rise after Trump's executive order. "It is the policy of the United States to enhance American greatness in space by enabling a competitive launch marketplace and substantially increasing commercial space launch cadence" by 2030, the order read. The change could well benefit Musk, who has long advocated for deregulation of the space industry. The world's richest man was previously a close advisor to Trump before the pair had a dramatic, public falling out in July. The executive order also called on Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy - who was at the signing and is currently NASA's administrator - "to eliminate or expedite the Department of Transportation's environmental reviews" for launches. SpaceX has been repeatedly criticised over the environmental impact at the sites where Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket in history, blasts off. The US-based nonprofit Centre for Biological Diversity said Trump's new executive order "paves the way for the massive destruction of protected plants and animals." "This reckless order puts people and wildlife at risk from private companies launching giant rockets that often explode and wreak devastation on surrounding areas," the centre's Jared Margolis said in a statement. Musk's dreams of colonising Mars rely on the success of Starship, and SpaceX has been betting that its "fail fast, learn fast" ethos will eventually pay off. The Federal Aviation Administration approved an increase in annual Starship rocket launches from five to 25 in early May, stating that the increased frequency would not adversely affect the environment.
IOL News
3 days ago
- IOL News
Unlocking healing: how 'The Gem: Lotus of Thousand Petals' is redefining wellness
In her debut book, 'The Gem: Lotus of Thousand Petals', Dr Mmatheo Motsisi delivers not merely a spiritual guide but a radiant call to awakening. Image: Dr Mmatheo Motsisi/Facebook In her debut book 'The Gem: Lotus of Thousand Petals', Dr Mmatheo Motsisi offers readers more than just a spiritual guide - she offers a luminous call to awaken. It is a work that invites seekers, healers and the quietly curious onto a sacred path of self-discovery, healing and transformation. Blending African indigenous wisdom, yogic philosophy, Buddhist mindfulness and universal mystical traditions, Motsisi's writing moves like poetry: gentle but piercing, grounded yet transcendent. At the heart of it is the lotus - a timeless symbol of consciousness unfolding, petal by petal, from murky waters toward the light. 'The 'Lotus of Thousand Petals' symbolises the full flowering of consciousness,' Motsisi explains. 'Each petal represents an aspect of our being, healed, integrated and illuminated until we remember our wholeness.' The Johannesburg-based healer, medicolegal expert and mediator says the inspiration to write the book began as 'a quiet yet persistent call' within her soul. 'It was a whisper urging me to give voice to truths carried deep within,' she recalls. 'This book is lived, not merely imagined. Every chapter carries the resonance of my own path through shadow and light, pain and grace.' Motsisi's writing process was not a sprint to the finish line - it was a pilgrimage. 'It took several years,' she says, 'not because the words were difficult but because the becoming they required was profound.' The act of writing became its own initiation. 'Emotionally, it was raw and revealing. Spiritually, it was an initiation, with each page becoming an altar where I laid down a piece of myself only to have it returned transformed.' This deep, embodied process shaped 'The Gem' into more than a book. It is, in Motsisi's words, 'a compassionate companion' for anyone navigating modern life with presence and purpose. It is a reminder that every hardship and victory is sacred - steps toward liberation and self-realisation. Although rooted in centuries-old wisdom, the book addresses the struggles of the present day - constant noise, inner restlessness and disconnection from self and others. 'At the heart of all ancient traditions is the truth that we are not separate,' Motsisi says. 'Our healing and liberation are shared journeys, and the inward path is inseparable from our connection to one another.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Although rooted in centuries-old wisdom, 'The Gem: Lotus of Thousand Petals' addresses the struggles of the present day - constant noise, inner restlessness and disconnection from self and others. Image: Supplied In today's world, she believes, spiritual awakening is less about retreating to mountaintops and more about living fully awake in everyday life. 'Awakening now is about being present in the world, awake to our interconnectedness,' she says. ''The Gem' offers reflections, practices and stories that help readers find inner stillness amidst outer noise and live with conscious intention.' One of the recurring themes in the book is the need to face and dissolve internal barriers. Motsisi names fear, self-doubt and the belief in unworthiness as 'powerful inner prisons' that hold people back. Her approach to dismantling these is gentle yet transformative. 'My book invites readers to meet these blockages with compassion rather than force,' she says. 'Through soulful inquiry, it helps dissolve these barriers and reveal our true, limitless nature.' This, she adds, is not a call to bypass pain but to integrate it. 'Every challenge is an invitation. Every scar carries a story. When we honour these, we reclaim our power.' Motsisi also addresses the tension between spiritual reflection and active engagement in the world. 'Spirituality without action can become withdrawal, and action without depth can become hollow,' she reflects. 'Balance comes when inner clarity guides outer action, when each step is rooted in presence, and when each inward turning strengthens our engagement with life.' This, she says, is where the lotus metaphor shines - rooted in the mud but blossoming above the water. 'We are called to bloom not by escaping the mud, but by using it to grow.' The book is written for anyone who feels 'a quiet yearning for something more.' Whether or not readers label themselves as spiritual seekers, Motsisi hopes they will find in its pages a mirror reflecting 'their beauty, strength and divine essence.' One of the most moving responses she has received came from a reader who told her, 'It felt as though this book was written just for me.' That, Motsisi says, is the ultimate affirmation. 'It means the work has met someone exactly where they are.' While the book is a complete offering in itself, Motsisi sees it as the first chapter in a larger body of work. 'I sense it as the first petal of a greater blossoming - a body of teachings that will continue to unfold through future books, workshops and gatherings.' Since the book's release, she has been moved by how it has taken on a life of its own. 'It has humbled me,' she admits. 'Watching it leave my hands and find its way into the world reminds me that we are vessels for what wishes to be expressed.' Her trust in divine timing has deepened. 'Our stories, shared sincerely, can become medicine for others,' she says. At its core, 'The Gem: Lotus of Thousand Petals' is a book about becoming - about embracing life's cycles of loss and renewal, shadow and light, mud and bloom. It calls readers to honour their own path, however winding, as sacred. For those willing to turn inward, face their fears, and open to life's mysteries, Motsisi's debut offers both a map and a companion for the road. And for the author herself, this is just the beginning. 'The journey never truly ends,' she says. 'It simply unfolds - petal by petal.'
