During the production process for Ramen, the soup packets are made in long continuous strands of several hundred packets at a time. The “assembly tape” is used to connect these continuous strands of packets into extended lengths which provide an uninterrupted supply of soup packets for the mechanism that feeds soup packets to the production line. The soup packet feeding mechanism cuts one soup packet off of the extended strand for each ramen noodle block on the production line as it is being individually wrapped and sealed.
The integrity of a soup packet with assembly tape is unaffected and its contents are still safe for consumption. The smiley face displayed on the assembly tape is the Maruchan company logo.
We hope this response alleviates any concerns you may have had about the product. Your interest in Maruchan is genuinely appreciated and we are grateful for your continued support.