A textile company, that makes fibre rayon, is taking the term 'going green' to a new level by using cloth-making technology to turn tree pulp² into noodles.

 

Omikenshi, based in Osaka, is turning indigestible cellulose that's mixed with konjac into fiber-rich flour, which the company calls 'cell-eat'.

 

Konjac,also known as 'Devil's Tongue', is a yam-like plant grown in Japan, and is used in making other Japanese noodles like Shirataki noodles.

 

Omikenshi's cell-eat is fat and gluten-free, low-carb alternative.

 

It has just 27 calories per pound, compared to 1,538 calories in a pound of wheat.

 

Omikenshi is betting on a health-food market worth 1.2 trillion yen³ in 2013, more than double the level two decades earlier according to Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency.

 

'We're entering the food business,' said Takashi Asami, manager at Omikenshi's strategic material development department in a recent interview.

 

"Demand for diet food is strong and looks promising⁴, while the Japanese textile market is saturated⁵ and threatened by rising imports'.

 

Asami noted⁶, other noodles that use konjac aren't flying off shelves, but the wood pulp adds more flavor and texture⁷ that the other noodles are lacking.

 

Omikensh plans to spend about 1 billion yen on manufacturing cell-eat in its textile plant.

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