New 'electroshock' chopsticks can lower sodium intake

This innovative chopstick has a weak current that can increase perceived saltiness of low-sodium food

Web Desk

July 06, 2022

An employee of Kirin Holdings demonstrates chopsticks that can enhance food taste using an electrical stimulation waveform that was jointly developed by the company and Meiji Universitys School of Science and Technology Professor Homei Miyashita, in Tokyo, Japan April 15, 2022. — Reuters/ Issei Kato — An employee of Kirin Holdings demonstrates chopsticks that can enhance food taste using an electrical stimulation waveform that was jointly developed by the company and Meiji University's School of Science and Technology Professor Homei Miyashita, in Tokyo, Japan April 15, 2022. — Reuters/ Issei Kato

Researchers in Japan experimented with a chopstick-shaped utensil and found that participants consumed 30 per cent less salt when using it.

This innovative chopstick has a weak current that can increase the perceived saltiness of low-sodium food.

The study was led by scientists at Meiji University and a Japanese company, Kirin. Previous experiments found that a weak electrical current can affect sodium chloride, made up of charged ions, to either enhance or decrease a salty taste.

This new study proved that it's possible to use a weak electric current as a meal tool to help keep a healthy diet.

“Many people consume around twice the salt intake standard recommended by the WHO,” says lead author Yoshinobu Kaji, a master’s student in the Graduate School of Advanced Mathematical Sciences at Meiji University, in a media release.

“This standard cannot be met with a little effort in salt reduction, and a drastic solution is essential. This study is an important approach because it suggests that a 30% reduction in salt can be achieved by electrical stimulation.”