TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-The World Instant Noodles Association (WINA) listed the world's ten largest consumers of instant noodles for 2015.
WINA recorded that 52 countries consumed 97.7 billion servings of instant noodles last year. Based on May 2016's data, Indonesia was the second biggest consumer after China.
According to the association, China and Hong Kong consumed the most instant noodles last year with 40.43 billion servings. Indonesia followed with 13.20 billion.
Japan came third with 5.54 billion servings, followed by Vietnam (4.80 billion), the United States (4.2 billion), South Korea (3.65 billion), the Philippines (3.48 billion), India (3.26 billion), Thailand (3.07 billion), and Brazil (2.28 billion).
The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) in 2014 surveyed 600 parents of kindergarten and elementary school students in five areas in Jakarta. Their findings confirmed that 93 percent of the respondents eat processed foods on regular basis, mostly instant noodles and processed products like sausages.
The YLKI said that the survey results are similar to what was found by the Health Ministry's health research in 2013.
"The consumption rate of noodle products was very high, especially among children and adolescents," YLKI had reported, noting that 15.4 percent of children aged 10-14 years ate noodles more than once a day.
In its official statement, the YLKI said that the funding required the government's attention, particularly concerning nutrients since people tend to eat instant noodles on its own without any side dishes.
