木头制成的面条，你想吃吗

Japan has created some interesting and innovated products like selfie sticks, Bento lunchboxes and now, wood noodles.

日本创造出了不少奇趣产品，比如自拍杆、便当，还有如今的“木制面条”。

A textile company, that makes fibre rayon, is taking the term ‘going green’ to a new level by using cloth-making technology to turn tree pulp into noodles.

一家生产人造纤维的纺织公司打算把做衣服的技术应用到食品上——用树浆做面条，达到了践行“绿色生活”的新高度。

Omikenshi, based in Osaka, is turning indigestible cellulose that’s mixed with konjac into fiber-rich flour, which the company calls ‘cell-eat’.

大阪的“Omikenshi”公司将把混合了魔芋的不易消化的纤维素，加入到富含纤维的面粉中，他们称之为“胞食”。

Konjac,also known as ‘Devil’s Tongue’, is a yam-like plant grown in Japan, and is used in making other Japanese noodles like Shirataki noodles.

魔芋也叫“魔鬼之舌”，是一种生长在日本的植物，跟芋头很像，常被用来做芋丝面等日本面条。

Omikenshi’s cell-eat is fat and gluten-free, low-carb alternative.

Omikenshi的这种“胞食”不含脂肪和谷蛋白，碳水化合物含量也低，是很好的替代食品。

It has just 27 calories per pound, compared to 1,538 calories in a pound of wheat.

相比一磅小麦的1538卡路里，它每磅只有27卡路里的热量。

Omikenshi is betting on a health-food market worth 1.2 trillion yen in 2013, more than double the level two decades earlier according to Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency.

据日本消费者事务署统计，2013年Omikenshi在保健食品市场投资1.2万亿日元，是20年前的两倍多。

‘We’re entering the food business,’ said Takashi Asami, manager at Omikenshi’s strategic material development department in a recent interview.

Omikenshi战略物资发展部经理村上麻美在采访中说：“我们将进军食品行业。”

“Demand for diet food is strong and looks promising, while the Japanese textile market is saturated and threatened by rising imports’.

“减肥食品的市场需求很强，这一市场很有前景，而日本纺织品市场已经饱和，且面临进口增加的威胁。”

Asami noted, other noodles that use konjac aren't flying off shelves, but the wood pulp adds more flavor and texture that the other noodles are lacking.

麻美指出，目前市面上的魔芋面条不够畅销，但木浆面条为市场注入了新的风味和口感，而这正是其他同类产品欠缺的。

Omikensh plans to spend about 1 billion yen on manufacturing cell-eat in its textile plant.

Omikensh公司计划在“胞食”项目上投资10亿日元，在其纺织品工厂投入生产。

Production of the fiber-rich flour is set to begin next year at 30 tons a month.

富含纤维的面粉将于明年投产，计划每月产出30吨。

‘It can be used as a substitute for wheat in products ranging from ramen, pasta, and Chinese dumplings,’ Asami said.

麻美说：“它可以作为小麦的替代品，替代你饮食中的拉面、意大利面和中国饺子。”

‘We are discussing exporting it to China in the future as obesity is becoming a major problem for children there.’

“我们正在商讨未来将它出口到中国，因为肥胖在中国已经成为儿童的主要健康问题。”

Vocabulary

konjac：魔芋

fly off shelves：畅销

ramen：拉面