Device uses a weak current to artificially amplify the taste of salt, as part of efforts to reduce sodium levels in popular dishes
In what they claim is a world first, researchers have developed chopsticks that artificially create the taste of salt, as part of efforts to reduce sodium levels in some of the country’s most popular dishes.
The device transmits sodium ions from food, through the chopsticks, to the mouth where they create a sense of saltiness, according to Homei Miyashita, a professor at Meiji University in Tokyo, whose laboratory collaborated with the food and drink manufacturer Kirin to develop the device. The average Japanese adult consumes about 10 grams of salt a day, double the amount recommended by the World Health Organization. The health ministry has proposed reducing daily salt intake to a maximum of 7.5 grams for men and 6.5 grams for women.
Miyashita and Kirin said clinical tests on people who follow a low-sodium diet had confirmed that the device enhances the salty taste of low-sodium food by about 1.5 times. They said participants givenmiso soup had commented on the improved “richness, sweetness and overall tastiness” of the dish.