19 Facts About Momofuku Ando

Momofuku Ando, born Go Pek-Hok, was a Taiwanese-born Japanese inventor and businessman who founded Nissin Food Products Co.

Momofuku Ando is known as the inventor of Nissin Chikin Ramen and the creator of the brands Top Ramen and Cup Noodles.

Momofuku Ando was raised by his grandparents within the city walls of Tainan following the deaths of his parents.

Momofuku Ando's grandparents owned a small textiles store, which inspired him, at the age of 22, to start his own textiles company, using 190,000 yuan, in Daitotei, Taihoku.

Momofuku Ando was convicted of tax evasion in 1948 and served two years in jail.

Momofuku Ando wondered why bread was recommended instead of noodles, which were more familiar to the Japanese.

The Ministry's response was that noodle companies were too small and unstable to satisfy supply needs, so Momofuku Ando decided to develop the production of noodles by himself.

Momofuku Ando had observed that Americans ate noodles by breaking the noodles in half, putting them into a paper cup, and pouring hot water over the noodles.

Momofuku Ando began the sales of his most famous product, Cup Noodle, on September 18,1971, with the idea of providing a waterproof polystyrene container.

In 1964, seeking a way to promote the instant noodle industry, Momofuku Ando founded the Instant Food Industry Association, which set guidelines for fair competition and product quality, introducing several industry standards such as the inclusion of production dates on packaging and the "fill to" line.

Momofuku Ando founded and became chairman of the International Ramen Manufacturers Association in 1997, later renamed to the World Instant Noodles Association, after seeing the need for greater oversight on instant noodles through a regulatory body.

When Taiwan was handed over to the Republic of China after the end of World War II, Momofuku Ando had to choose between becoming its citizen or remaining a Japanese subject.

Momofuku Ando chose the former in order to keep his ancestral properties on the island, as all Japanese nationals had to forfeit their properties in Taiwan.

Nevertheless, in 1966, Momofuku Ando naturalized through marriage and became a Japanese citizen.

Momofuku Ando died of heart failure on January 5,2007, at a hospital in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, at the age of 96.

Momofuku Ando was survived by his wife Masako, two sons and a daughter.

Momofuku Ando claimed that the secret of his long life was playing golf and eating chicken ramen almost every day.

Momofuku Ando was said to have eaten instant ramen until the day he died.

Yasuhiro Nakasone and Masako Momofuku Ando attended the unveiling ceremony.