Part of the enchantment of the Cup Noodles, versus the ones plastic-wrapped applications with the little aluminum seasoning pouches, was once their portability and no-fuss prep — it’s essential throw one for your bag to consume within the ruin room at paintings or make one within the dorm, late-night.
Nissin mentioned that its choice to modify from a polystyrene cup to a paper one was once partially an environmental one. The new cups can be product of 40 % recycled fiber and can now not be wrapped in plastic. “This updated packaging and the new paper cup marks an important milestone for Cup Noodles and a key step in our environmental commitment,” Michael Price, president and leader govt of the corporate’s U.S. arm, mentioned in a news release.
In the announcement, the corporate additionally touted the “new” comfort of the layout, too. “For the first time ever, Cup Noodles will be microwaveable, no longer requiring boiling water, thus significantly reducing cooking time,” it boasted.
First time? Not for lots of of its longtime lovers. Some consultant tweets: “I was today years old when I found out you’re not supposed to microwave cup noodles,” and “This whole time cup noodles wasn’t supposed to go in the microwave???” Even prior to the switch-over, there was once a subgenre on TikTok of other folks stunned to be told that they weren’t in fact meant to be nuking their cups. “So I’ve been cooking these things wrong the entire time and no one ever told me?” mentioned a girl named Reba Lasha in a video from previous this yr through which she customizes the dish through dumping a bag of Cheetos into it. (Another in style social media trope is hacking ramen with a wide variety of add-ins, from eggs to ice cream bars.)
Others, in fact, chided the blissfully unaware amongst them. “They literally print the instructions on the side of the cup!” one wrote. Others, it sounds as if, knew however didn’t care.
Aware or no longer, noodle-nukers had been dwelling at the edge this complete time: Microwaving the previous packaging carried doable protection and well being dangers. Polystyrene comprises a chemical referred to as styrene, which the federal government has labeled as a “reasonably anticipated human carcinogen” that may leach out all through the microwaving procedure and into meals. Experts say, although, that the risk isn’t in every now and then warming up takeout in foam bins, however quite, an accumulation over time.
And glance out for splattered microwaves — or worse. Heating the froth cups within the microwave may “can also compromise the container’s structural integrity,” inflicting the contents to leak or spill in your equipment, or on you when you’re getting rid of it. A lot of states have handed bans on using polystyrene bins for meals and different makes use of, most commonly mentioning environmental considerations, since the ones heaps of plates and clamshells can’t be recycled.
While the ones drawbacks may had been actual, again within the dim days of the pandemic, a (false!) urban legend concerning the Cup Noodles and different ramen manufacturers took grasp. “Instant noodles contain wax coating which is also used in Styrofoam containers,” learn a 2016 Facebook post that started making the rounds. “That is why instant noodles don’t stick to each other while cooking.”
While fact-checkers beat that one again, the noodles do have some well-earned complaint about their threat. Many packaged manufacturers are crazy-high in sodium (although some are available reduced-sodium variations), together with Cup Noodles, with a unmarried serving of its vintage rooster selection clocking in at 1,160 milligrams, or about part the really useful day by day consumption for an grownup.