Instant Noodle - Health Concerns

Health Concerns

Instant noodles are often criticized as unhealthy or junk food. One of the suspicions is that a single serving of instant noodles is high in carbohydrates and fat, but low in fiber, vitamins and minerals. However, the PFC(Protein/Fat/Carbohydrate) proportion of a typical instant noodle is 9%, 36% and 55% where the ideal PFC balance is said to be 12-13%, 20-30% and 57-58% respectively. As such, the nutrition balance is not necessarily lopsided. Moreover, the balance can be improved by the addition of fresh chopped vegetables and/or healthy lean meat or fish to the finished noodle soup to make a more complete dish.

Another accusation is that if served in an instant broth, instant noodles typically contain high amounts of sodium. The current U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance of sodium for adults and children over 4 years old is 1,500 mg/day. Sodium content in instant noodles is also exaggerated. People find food tasty if it has a sodium concentration between 0.8% and 1.2%. Instant noodles are generally not a very salty food. In the case of the typical instant noodles, namely, “noodles in soup,” people usually eat the noodles but don’t eat up the soup. Unlike genuine soup products, the main contents of instant noodles are the noodles, not the soup. Therefore, as far as instant noodles are concerned, people consume only a part of the sodium contained in the soup. Further, instant yakisoba (fried noodles) products contain only half the sodium contained in “noodles in soup.” Typical cup-type instant noodles contain 2.7 g of sodium (per 100 g of edible portions), while cup-type yakisoba (fried noodles) contain 1.5 g of sodium.

Whether or not hormone-like substances that could be extracted from the packaging and glues used to pack the instant noodles was a controversy over instant noodles. It was suspected that harmful substances could seep into the soup as hot water was added to instant noodles in a polystyrene cup. After a series of studies were conducted,the suspicion was eradicated. For instance, the media confuse styrene monomer, which could be extracted from the expandable polystyrene cup in small quantity but does no harm, with styrene dimer and styrene trimer both of which were designated as environment hormone or endocrine disruptor. Neither styrene dimer nor styrene trimer is extracted from the polystyrene cup, and therefore the charge was found to be groundless.

Another concern regarding the consumption of fried foods, including instant noodles, is the possible presence of oxidation products resulting from poor maintenance of the oil. If the cooking oil is not maintained at the proper temperature or changed as often as necessary, these oxidation products, which are suspected to pose various health risks, can be present in the foods. Proper production standards minimize the risk.

For this reason, such industry organizations as World Instant Noodles Association (WINA), Japan Convenience Food Industry Association, etc. are providing preventive tips for relatively small manufacturers which are prone to quality problems.