Marunaka Co., Ltd.: Founded in 1933

Marunaka is located in Ebetsu City, adjacent to Sapporo City. The company specializes in the manufacture of ramen, udon, soba, hiyamugi, and somen. Hokkaido has the largest wheat production in Japan (66%). Fukuoka Prefecture ranks second, followed by Saga Prefecture in third place, but you can see that Hokkaido's production volume (harvest) is overwhelming. 90% of the products are made from 100% Kitahonami wheat grown in Hokkaido. Kitahonami wheat is characterized by its excellent texture and rich flavor.

Marunaka noodles secret :

Wheat is an agricultural product, so its quality varies depending on the weather during the year. Marunaka uses wheat that is sown in the fall and harvested in summer, and new wheat comes out around December. When switching to new wheat, Marunaka conducts manufacturing tests on Hokkaido wheat to confirm its quality.

If quality does not meet their standards, they ask the mill to make adjustments. A visual comparison test (pecker test) is also carried out to check the color of the flour. Gluten is a protein unique to wheat flour. Flour is kneaded and washed with water, remaining gluten is cooked to expand, and flour strength is determined by weighing it. There are different types of flour, some suitable for bread making and others suitable for noodle making. Types of flour are classified according to amount of protein ingredients. Marunaka uses all-purpose flour with 8.5% to 12% protein content.

Marunaka measures noodles moisture content during drying to see if moisture drains easily. (If drying environment changes suddenly, noodles will be of poor quality.) Marunaka noodles are smooth and soft. By using carefully selected raw materials and latest equipment and technology, Marunaka continues to preserve same traditional taste. Drying room is divided into four stages: drying stop, preliminary drying, main drying, and final drying. Drying process takes about 8 hours. Dried noodles (125 cm in length) are cut into specified lengths using a cutting machine. Finished noodles are left to rest for at least one day and checked for any changes in quality before being packaged.

Finished noodles are boiled and inspected to see if their moisture content is within standard value, to see if they are cracked, and to check their texture.

Certifications:

Marunaka is certified to comply with JFS-B food safety standard. JFS standards, food safety management standards originating in Japan, play a role in ensuring food safety throughout food supply chain through third-party audits.

JFS-B standard is a food safety management standard developed by the Japan Food Safety Management Association (JFSM) to help organizations improve manufacture of safe food products. In addition, this standard can also be used for internal and external audits to verify and evaluate organization's food production processes’ safety. It can also be used by internal auditors and external assessors to verify and evaluate organization's efforts. It should be noted that the B standard includes the 12 procedures of HACCP principle.

Food safety management system (implementation of rigorous food safety protocols). HACCP principles: compliance with the 7 HACCP principles and 12 procedures. Compliance with strict guidelines for good manufacturing practices.