While the World Health Organization has warned about excessive sodium consumption – adults would ingest double the amount recommended – Japanese scientists have developed an electric spoon that tricks the brain by sending an electric current to the tongue. We'll explain it to you.
Too much salt in ultra-processed foods, too much salt also in rusks as denounced by the consumer association CLCV, but also too much salt in bread… Moreover, the bakers had concluded an agreement alongside health authorities in March 2022 to commit to reducing the salt content of this food. By 2025, sandwich breads must, for example, contain only 1.1g of salt per 100g. The commitments are already concrete: according to the Food Observatory (oqali), the very first objective set for July 2022 has been achieved, with 82.5% of traditional French boules having reduced the portion by more than 20% salt.
According to the World Health Organization, it is recommended to consume less than five grams of salt per day, the equivalent of a teaspoon. And for good reason, excess sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease or even stroke.
In Japan, we found an easy solution to implement on a daily basis to reduce salt consumption without feeling frustrated by the lack of texture in foods: a spoon that amplifies the salty taste of foods using a simple electric current. It was developed in association with the laboratory of Dr. Homei Miyashita at Meiji University in the Department of Frontier Media Sciences.
More precisely, sensors on the tongue perceive the salty flavor more sensitively by sending a mini-current. Painless, we reassure you! In other words, we fake the brain by giving it the impression that the contents of the plate contain salt.
The concept of the electric spoon is now industrialized by the Japanese food industry giant Kirin Holdings, which owns the Asahi, Sapporo and Suntory beer brands. The start of marketing was announced a few days ago, with initially a limited number of copies available via an online store. The electric spoon will then arrive in stores starting next June.
Already two years ago, Meiji University in Tokyo and Kirin Holdings began their collaboration by taking part in a scientific experiment involving electric wands. As with the spoon, it involved sending a slight electrical stimulation to the tongue. The secret of this technology was in fact based on the density of ions emitted, giving more or less a salty impression.
