The global instant noodles industry is entering a new era of development, which demands that all makers should highlight product quality, product nutrition and food safety, Koki Ando, chairman of the World Instant Noodles Association (WINA) said at the 8th World Instant Noodles Summit held in Tianjin, China on May 19-21, 2012.

Ando's remarks were echoed by more than 600 participants, including top management from 89 noodles makers and industrial experts from 25 countries and regions.

Ando, who is also the CEO of Japan's Nissin Foods Holding Company, suggested that all global food safety watchdogs should strengthen coordination and cooperation to promote the industry's healthy development and unify global efforts in producing ever-more diversified, nutritious and safe instant noodles for consumers.

Dr. V. Prakash, president of the Nutrition Society of India and former director of the Central Food Technological Research Institute, also stressed the importance of ensuring food safety for consumers through proper packaging, rational labeling, and other means.

Norio Sakurai, secretary-general of the WINA, suggested that instant noodles, rather than only being a convenient food, can be developed into a functional food with the addition of various nutritional ingredients.

Wei Ing-Chou, chairman of China's largest instant noodles maker Tingyi Holding Corp., said, "The theme of the summit-'Instant Noodles for Better Life-Safety, Delicacy and Convenience'-actually reminds us of the importance to pay full attention to consumers' needs. Global noodle makers should take the initiative to enhance manufacturing techniques and product quality."

Instant noodles, since their birth in Japan in 1958, have been consumed worldwide as a popular meal substitute, second only to bread. According to the WINA, about 98.2 billion packets/cups of instant noodles were eaten worldwide in 2011, with China consuming some 42.5 billion packets/cups, accounting for about 43 percent of the world's total.

In 2011, China produced a total of 48.4 billion instant noodles packets, with overall sales amounting to 55.8 billion yuan (US$8.86 billion). As the world's largest producer and consumer of instant noodles, the country has drawn great attention from participants and industrial experts from other countries and regions.

It's believed that China will play a vital part in the future development of the global industry thanks to its efforts in growing into a mature market, but the country should rely on constant innovations to enhance product quality and industrial value if it is to tackle various problems and challenges on the road ahead.

The importance of this issue has been stressed by Ando, who said that in a global environment addressing high quality for further development, China should also make efforts to pursue high quality and abandon ineffective strategies, such as excessive low-pricing, which may lead to vicious competition.

Sakurai said that food safety is still the biggest weakness for the development of China's instant noodles industry. He suggested that China needs to come up with technological innovations and develop more convenience food varieties. In this way, the industry will gain consumer confidence, and the current sluggish market will recover in a short period of time.

The industry's production value is bound to hit 100 billion yuan (US$15.9 billion) by 2015, a figure which almost doubles the current amount, according to the state plan for the food industry during the12th Five-Year Development Plan Period (2011-2015). To this end, Chinese makers should accelerate industrial adjustments and strengthen innovation to improve product quality and value.

Fan Xianguo, chairman of Chinese noodle maker Jinmailang Food, said, "China should focus on technological innovations to bring consumers a brand-new impression on instant noodles, either in noodle-making techniques, ingredients, or soup flavor, if it hopes to lead the global industry in the future." Fan also said that Jinmailang will greatly increase input into S&T research and development in the next five years to help gain market share.