Electric Chopsticks Reduce Sodium Intake

Sodium chloride (NaCl), more commonly known as good ol' fashioned table salt, is very important in human history. Salt helped our ancestors preserve meat before refrigeration came along and let them transition to agricultural societies. Dietary sodium is also an essential nutrient and tastes amazing. But most of us today consume far more sodium than we need, which can have a negative effect on health. To reduce sodium consumption without sacrificing the delicious taste of salt, Japanese researchers developed electric chopsticks that enhance the intensity of salty flavors.

These electric chopsticks were developed by Meiji University professor Homei Miyashita, who was also responsible for the flavor screen that we covered recently. But Miyashita isn't the first person to think of stimulating taste buds with electricity through chopsticks. Years ago, we covered a similar project from Nimesha Ranasinghe. This new project, however, has the support of Kirin Holdings, which is a Japanese beverage company. The result is a more polished prototype and at least some chance that this will end up as a consumer product—though we won't hold our breath.

The device is simple, with one of the chopsticks equipped with an electrode at the tip. The other end has wiring running to a wrist-mounted computer and battery pack. We assume that the computer controls the voltage, but it isn't clear why a computer is necessary. In tests, the team found that these chopsticks enhance salty taste by 1.5 times. If that is true, then these chopsticks could reduce sodium intake by 33 percent without affecting the taste of the food. That could make a serious difference for people who consume too much sodium. Miyashita and Kirin Holdings think they could bring these chopsticks to market as early as 2023.