Japanese researchers develop taste-enhancing chopsticks
These chopsticks have the potential of making mealtimes more enjoyable for people who have to eat bland food due to health concerns.
Co-developed by Japan's Meiji University's School of Science and Technology Professor Homei Miyashita and Japanese beverage maker Kirin Holdings, the chopsticks can enhance the taste of food by using an electrical stimulation waveform.
The eating utensil is connected to a mini-computer device strapped to the eater's wrist, a weak electric current moves sodium ions, the basis of salty taste in food, in the food that is being consumed.
The chopsticks enable the tongue of the person eating to feel an enhanced taste in their food, Miyashita said.
Miyashita and Kirin have conducted clinical tests on people who follow a low-sodium diet and found that the device enhances the salty taste of low-sodium food by up to 1.5 times.
Kirin office worker, Toshiaki Hyodo, demonstrated the chopsticks by eating low-sodium miso soup at his office. He said when he used the chopsticks, the healthier soup tasted just like the normal version.
According to Miyashita and Kirin, the daily salt intake of Japanese adults is about 10 grams, which is double the amount the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends.
Miyashita and Kirin researchers are currently refining the chopsticks and hope to commercialise them next year.