Inventor of instant noodles dies

mari

<font size="2"><b>The inventor of instant noodles, Momofuku Ando, has died in Japan, aged 96, of a heart attack.</b>
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<font size="2">Mr Ando was born in Taiwan in 1910 and moved to Japan in
1933, founding Nissin Food Products Co after WWII to provide cheap,
quick food for the masses.
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<font size="2">His most famous product, Cup Noodle, was released in 1971.
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<font size="2">Its taste and ease of preparation - adding hot water to
dried noodles in a waterproof polystyrene container - have made it
popular around the world.
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<font size="2">Mr Ando said the inspiration for his product came when
he saw people lining up to buy bowls of hot ramen noodle soup at a
black market stall during the food shortages after World War II.
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<font size="2"><b>Noodles in space</b>
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<font size="2">He developed his first instant noodles, Chicken Ramen, in 1958.
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<font size="2">The product came out as Japan recovered from the ravages of WWII and began a long period of economic expansion.
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<font size="2">It was the masterstroke of providing a waterproof
polystyrene container for the noodles that made his Cup Noodle an
instant success in 1971.
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<font size="2">Nissin has led the global instant noodle industry since
then, selling 85.7 billion servings every year, according to Agence
France Presse.
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<font size="2">His firm also developed a version of Cup Noodle for Japanese astronauts to eat on the space shuttle Discovery in 2005.
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<font size="2">In 1999, Mr Ando opened a museum in Osaka devoted to instant noodles.
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<font size="2">He retired as Nissin's chairman in 2005.
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<font size="2">Japanese newspapers and businesspeople have been paying tribute to Mr Ando.
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<font size="2">"He was a self-made man who developed an epoch-making
instant noodle product and spread it to all corners of the world," Akio
Nomura, chairman of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told
Kyodo news agency. </font></p><p>
<font size="2">Mr Ando remained active until just days before his
death, giving a New Year's speech to Nissin employees and having a
lunch of Chicken Ramen with company executives.
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