2007 Midwest Specialty Grains Conference & Trade show F ederation of J apan N atto M anufacturers’ C ooperativ

1. 2007 Midwest Specialty Grains Conference & Trade showFederation of Japan Natto Manufacturers’ Cooperative Society September 16, 2007 Eiji Monden

2. TABLE OF CONTENT • What We are What We Do • Natto Making • Health Benefit • What is Natto and How to eat • Natto Market • Natto Variety • Future Market • Expectation to US

3. ABOUT FJNMC 全国納豆協同組合連合会

4. ACTIVITIES National Natto Contest Natto Symposium Evaluation of Natto Interview with a judge Evaluation of Natto Media watches the evaluation Media watches the evaluation Display

5. ACTIVITIES Natto Queen Ceremony Ms. Kaori Manabe, a popular TV star, was selected as this year’s Natto Queen. Over 70 press people came to the ceremony. July 4, 2007 @ Grand Prince Hotel

6. WHAT IS NATTO ?

7. NATTO MAKING Washing Wash soybeans thoroughly in a washing machine and remove foreign materials. 1st Day Soaking In order to soften soybeans, soak soybeans in 16 ℃ water for about 20 hours. Soybeans absorb water and swell to twice. 2nd Day Steaming Put them into the pressure cooker and steam . (Whole soybeans : 3-1.5 kg/cm2 pressure for 30-35 minutes; Cracked soybeans: 0.7 kg/cm2 pressure for 1-2 minutes) Sprinkling Natto bacteria After steaming, sprinkle Natto bacteria on soybeans. The soybean tempreture is at 80-90 ℃. This is for killing all bacteria and promoting germination of spores. （heat shock ） Filling Put the cooked soybeans in a container. Attach a small packet of sauce and another packet of mustard to the container. Fermentation Keep the natto in the fermentation room for 18-20 hours. The room temperature should be around 35-40 ℃, and moisture level at 80-90 ℃. 3rd Day Cooling Refrigerate the natto below 5 ℃ to control the fermentation of natto bacteria. Packaging Package the natto and ship them by refrigerator trucks. 3 days are required for natto making. Too long fermentation causes smell of ammonia and bad natto flavor.

8. HEALTH BENEFITS OF NATTO Soybean Fermentation Functionality of Soybean Functionality by Fermentation Nutrients of Natto Prevention of Heart Attacks, Strokes, Senility Nattokinase Dipicolinic Acid Prevention of Osteoporosis Vitamin K2 Antibiotic Effect Saponin Vitamin B2 Vitamin E Prevention of Cancer

9. MEDICAL USES: Reduces the likelihood of blood clotting Contains large amounts of Vitamin K Contains large amounts of enzyme called nattokinase which may also reduce blood clotting HEALTH BENEFITS OF NATTO

10. TYPE OF NATTO Sticky Natto and Dried Natto There are two types of natto: “Itohiki Natto (sticky natto)” and Tera Natto (Temple Natto; dried natto)”. Sticky Natto is the natto generally eaten. There are three kinds of the sticky natto: Whole soybean Natto, Hikiwari Natto (cracked soybean natto) and Goto Natto (made of hikiwari natto and malted rice). Tera Natto (Temple Natto) was introduced by the priests who studied in China and returned to Japan. This is black, salty, dried natto. 【Whole Soybean Natto 】 大豆を丸ごと煮て、納豆菌で発酵させたもの。ふつう「なっとう」といえば、この丸大豆納豆を指します。 【Hikiwari Natto】 大豆を炒って、石臼で粗く挽きわり、表皮を除いてから煮るのが特色。青森、秋田、岩手などの北国では、江戸時代以前から作られていました。 【Goto Natto】 山形県米沢地方の郷土食。大豆１石（約１８０L)で作った挽きわり納豆に、麹５斗（約９０L)、塩５斗（約９０L)をまぜ、樽に仕込んで熟成させたところから、五斗納豆と呼ばれています。現在では塩分を減らし、雪割納豆の商品名で市販されています。

11. TYPE OF NATTO（納豆の種類） 「糸引き納豆」 Itohiki Natto (Sticky Natto) 「五斗納豆」 Goto Natto 「挽き割り納豆」 Cracked Bean Natto 「寺納豆」 Tera Natto (Dried natto)

12. HOW TO EAT NATTO ? It usually includes a small packet of sauce and another packet of mustard. Natto eaten on top of rice is commonly stirred before consumption

13. HISTORY OF NATTO（歴史） • The materials and tools needed to produce natto (soybean and straw) were commonly available in Japan since ancient times, so the discovery could have happened as early as in the Jomon period,which was 3000-4000 years ago.　（縄文時代　3-4000年前） • 10 million of Bacillus natto were on a piece of Japanese straw • One significant change in the production of natto happened in the Taisho period (1912-1926), when researchers discovered a way to produce a natto starter culture containing Bacillus natto without the need for straw. This greatly simplified the production process and enabled more consistent results.

14. NATTO MARKET NATTO CONSUMPTION Soybean Use: MAFF Estimates Natto Consumption/Household/Year 2nd Growth Period 3rd Growth Period 1st Growth Period Large-scale stores gained power & Manufacturing Reform Health Benefits Reports by Media Population Increase & Distribution Reform

15. NATTO MARKET NATTO PRODUCTION ①No official statistics available. Estimates: Approx. 234,000 MT. Soybean use for Natto: 130,000 MT. 4.7 billion packages (50 grams natto/pack) /year. ②Total household consumption in 2006: 188.5 Billion Yen (US$ 1,639 Million) This excludes institutional use. Total Natto Market Size (Estimate): Yen 193 Billion or US$1,678 Million NATTO MARKET （Unit: Yen 100 Million ） FJNMCS Projection

16. REASONS FOR PURCHASING NATTO • 79.1% - nutritious 68.0% - health benefits • Over 50 years old: Health benefits, vegetable protein, not animal protein • More women than men answered “Some of family members like Natto” as a reason.

17. HOW DID YOU LEARN THE HEALTH BENEFITS 76.8%: from TV programs 36.6%: from newspaper/magazines 17.6%: from Natto TV CM 16.9%: from friends Older generations: higher percentage in “from newspaper/magazines” Younger generations: higher percentage in “from friends” Hokkaido area: 8.9% from medical doctors

18. NATTOVARIETY Soybean Use for Natto by Country of Origin （Unit: 1,000 MT） - Japanese soybean use for natto has slightly decreased, and most of soybeans used for Natto come from North America. - Soybeans used for natto are non-GMO premium soybeans.

19. NATTOVARIETY 2007 SoybeanUse (Unit: 10,000 MT) 2007 Food Soybean Use by Usage （Estimates) （Unit: 1,000 MT） 2007 Soybean Use for Natto by Country (Unit: 1,000 MT) North American soybean use: 103,000 MT-- Largest share Total Soybean Use for Foods: 956,000 MT; 135,000 MT for Natto

20. NATTOVARIETY Chicago Market Price1 bushel ＝27.2g CBOT ・　Soybean market prices rose due to the drought in 1996-1997. ・　International market prices showed increasing tendency due to the drought in the U.S. in 2004 and decreased So. American harvest projection. ・　Another factor which rose CBOT market prices in 2004 was considered as Chinese traders’ movement. ・　Soybean prices have recently soared because of increased soybean demand in China, increased grain demand with the growth of biofuel industry, and Yen depreciation.

21. WORLD AVERAGE LIFE SPAN RANKING 192 WHO Member Countries WHO (World Heath Organization ) Data 2006

22. FUTURE MARKET • Further Research on New Natto Health Benefits • New Menu Development of Natto • Further Natto Market Expansion domestically and globally MISO MozzarellaSushi Winner of 2003 Sushi Competition in UK

23. EXPECATION TO U.S. IP SOY INDUSTRY • To strengthen more direct communication for new variety development with natto manufacturers at an early stage • Please continue growing Food Soybeans • Continuing Demands and Market Potentiality for U.S. Non-GMO Soybeans are in Japan • We would like to launch Natto Market in the US like Soysauce. Let’s work it together! MISO MozzarellaSushi Winner of 2003 Sushi Competition in UK

24. SOYBEAN SAVE THE EARTH ! MISO MozzarellaSushi Winner of 2003 Sushi Competition in UK

25. NATTO SAVE THE EARTH ! MISO MozzarellaSushi Winner of 2003 Sushi Competition in UK

26. THANK YOU ! Federation of Japan Natto Manufacturers’ Cooperative Society & Young Leadership Team September, 2007 Minneapolis, MN U.S.A. MISO MozzarellaSushi Winner of 2003 Sushi Competition in UK

27. Looking forward to seeing you again either in Japan or U.S .! September 13, 2007 JAPAN NATTO YOUNG LEADERSHIP TEAM @ Univ. of MN