Edible iPhone 5 cases now on sale in Japan

Most phone cases are designed to protect your handset from being dropped, or accidentally scratched. The Survival Senbei iPhone 5 Case is designed to stave off hunger pains should you find yourself miles from anywhere and unable to dial for a pizza.

The hand-crafted cases, now on sale in Japan, are made entirely from lightweight brown rice and salt and baked into a senbei rice cracker that fits perfectly around your iPhone 5. They do take anywhere up to a month to be delivered though, as the creator, a middle-aged Japanese woman called Mariko, can only usually manage to make three good ones a day.

The cases costs 3,818 yen (which apparently is a Japanese mnemonic pun on the word "survival") or $48 -- so you might want to consider seeing what else is available to tuck into before gnawing on your phone. You will need to consume it within two months though, as the cases have a 60-day expiration date. Oh, and they’ll break if dropped, too. Editor: Yes, but will the iPhone break?