These electric chopsticks make food taste more salty

With a growing problem of overweight and obesity around the world, many people have chosen new technologies to fight against this scourge. This is the case for these Japanese scientists who invented electric chopsticks that accentuate the salty taste of food.

Excess salt intake can be problematic for health. In addition to being linked to overweight and obesity, it is also linked to cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. Faced with this problem, a team of Japanese researchers came up with the idea of ​​creating an electric wand that enhances the salty taste of food, without having to add salt. In particular, the chopsticks are connected to a small computer device attached to the eater’s hand and use electrical stimulation to reduce salt consumption.

Specifically, to create a salty sensation, the chopsticks emit a very weak electrical current, transmitting sodium ions from food through the chopsticks and then into the users mouth. Note that this ingenious gadget was developed by Homei Miyashita, a professor at Meiji University in Tokyo, in collaboration with the Japanese food and beverage manufacturer Kirin. For now, it’s just a prototype, but the team said improvements will be made and the wands should be available to consumers as early as next year, Kirin said in a statement.

While the use of chopsticks isn’t very common in Western countries, these utensils might find a receptive audience in Japan, where the traditional diet tends to be high in salt.