Researchers in Japan develop electric chopsticks that enhance savory flavors

Japanese researchers have developed chopsticks – toothpicks used in some cultures to pick up food – computerized to enhance salty tastes, which can help people who need to reduce the amount of sodium in their diet.

Co-developed by Professor Homei Miyashita of Meiji University and beverage maker Kirin Holdings Co., the chopsticks highlight flavors using electrical stimuli and a minicomputer on a wristband.

The device uses weak electrical currents to transmit sodium ions from the food through the chopsticksinto the mouth, where they create a salty taste, Miyashita said.

“As a result, the salty flavor is enhanced by 1.5 times,” he said.

Miyashita and his lab explored various ways technology can interact with and stimulate human sensory experiences. He also developed a television that can be licked and mimics the taste of various foods.

You chopsticks Electrics may have relevance particularly in Japan, where the traditional diet favors salty tastes. The average Japanese adult consumes about 10 grams of salt a day, double the amount recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Excess sodium consumption is linked to an increased incidence of high blood pressure, strokes and other health problems.

“To prevent these diseases, we need to decrease the amount of salt we eat,” said Kirin researcher Ai Sato.

“If we tried to avoid eating salt in the conventional way, we would have to bear the pain of cutting out our favorite foods from the diet, or putting up with bland foods.”

Miyashita and Kirin are refining their prototype of the chopsticks and hope to be able to market them early next year.