Biodiversity / Food / Water

October 20, 2003

 

Whole-bean Tofu Now on Sale

Keywords: Eco-business / Social Venture Food Manufacturing industry Reduce / Reuse / Recycle 

Taishi Food Inc., one of Japan's major tofu (soybean curd) manufacturers, has started marketing a new product "Yu-ki Marumaru Tofu" or organic whole-soybean tofu, which uses the entire soybean in its manufacture. In Aomori Prefecture, where the company's headquarters are located, more and more supermarkets and grocery stores are beginning to carry this product.

Tofu is made from soy milk squeezed from mashed and cooked soybeans. Left over after this process are soybean lees, so-called tofu refuse or "okara" in Japanese. Soybean lees contain substantial amounts of dietary fiber and isoflavones, nutrients effective for mitigating the risks of arteriosclerosis and cancer. Soybean lees make up almost half of the volume of soybean material going into the manufacture of tofu, and used to be a common foodstuff, but are now mostly discarded or used for animal feed. Their disposal as an industrial waste also incurs huge costs.

Yu-ki Marumaru Tofu is processed utilizing an enzyme that dissolves the soybeans. By using the entire bean, the tofu retains more of the soybean's natural sweetness, contains three times as much dietary fiber and more isoflavones than any other tofu ever produced. Moreover, no soybean lees are produced during the manufacturing process. The company has started further production and promotion of this new tofu product as an environmentally friendly, healthy food.



Posted: 2003/10/20 02:26:23 PM
Japanese version

 

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