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Natto Has High Value for Money

Natto is the food made by planting natto yeasts on soybeans.

Originally the soybean came from China and is growing naturally in the Asian region. In order for the soybean to grow, it needs root nodule bacteria in the soil. Soybeans cannot grow in Europe and Africa where appropriate bacteria do not exist.

On the other hand, the natto yeast grows on beans. Among them, it prefers soybeans and the speed of fermentation is faster than the case planted on other beans. In other words, "natto” is a natural food cultivated in our climate by combining soybeans and natto yeasts.

Being the food adapted to the Japanese climate, natto does not require any special equipment or ingredients to produce. With proper hygiene and temperature management, delicious natto can be made anywhere.

Nonetheless, the production system we have today only started in the Taisho Era (1912-1926). Until that time, natto was fermented in the “Warazuto (bundled straw container)” and as a result, consumers did not have confidence in its hygiene.

Therefore, Dr. Jun HANZAWA who was professor of applied mycology at Hokkaido University started disseminating the production method of natto with hygienic containers using purely cultivated natto yeasts, and it has become the base for the standard production system of today. Soybeans are easy to cultivate, grow fast, and are cultivated in China, the U.S., etc. for export.

Moreover, one straw bag or 60kg of soybeans can be processed into more than 1,000 natto if converted at 100grams per unit.

Low cost ingredients, the climate appropriate for production, modern mass production technologies, and efficient process which takes only a few days from the sorting of beans to shipment. As a result of these favorable conditions combined, we can purchase natto for the price low enough to have it every day. It may be a kind of miracle that we can obtain the food with so nutritious at such a low price.