Technical Report

○Coming of Global Food Crisis
While the situation of the global food supply becoming a serious problem, food self-sufficiency of Japan is only 38% (calorie base), and that is the lowest level in the developed countries. Out of this situation, it is truly important to make efforts to raise this rate for the stable food supply in the future, considering the possibility that the food import stops for any reasons.

○Rising Expectation for the Rice Powder
To raise the food self-sufficiency in Japan, the key is to consume rice, which has nearly 100% self- sufficiency in Japan, as much as possible in different ways. However, the consumption of rice per person has been decreasing due to the change of the eating habit and the aging society. We cannot expect a drastic rise of consumption only by eating rice as it is. So, working on development of new rice powder product, such as using them for bread or cakes has been attracting a great expectation.

○Technology of NARA
Traditionally, the rice powder has been used for Japanese sweets such as rice dumplings or buns. However, compared to wheat flour, it was said that rice powder would not be suitable for bread or sponge cakes because of its characters of “high level of absorption and stickiness” or “Not containing Gluten”.
By dedicating our powder processing technology which has been developed in our long time corporate history, NARA has established the milling process for rice powder bread, by controlling the particle size, shape, and moisture content of the material.

○Vision for the Future
Recently, rice flour bread has become available at convenience stores and supermarkets, but it is expected that it will be difficult to spread rice flour nationwide simply as a substitute for wheat flour. Therefore, in the future, it will be very important to develop products that take advantage of the characteristics of rice, such as the unique texture and flavor of rice flour and the sense of security unique to domestic products.
As of 2020, the production of new rice flour used for bread and noodles is about 34,000 tons / year, while the use of wheat flour is about 5 million tons / year, If 10% of them can be replaced with rice flour, it will not only contribute to the increase of the food self-sufficiency rate, but also greatly to the promotion of rice cultivation which is an important culture in Japan.
NARA has experiences in establishing the rice powder production plants as well as know-how of soft and machinery phases. We are confident to become your support to establish the most suitable facility for rice powder production. Your contact will be always welcome!