Japan has created some interesting and innovated¹ 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 pulp² 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 yen³ 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 promising⁴, while the Japanese textile market is saturated⁵ 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 noted⁶, other noodles that use konjac aren't flying off shelves, but the wood pulp adds more flavor and texture⁷ 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 obesity⁸ 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。”