![Kirin's Electric Salt Spoons aim to cut sodium intake](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/world-news/2024/05/20/TELEMMGLPICT000378540264_17162157601350_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqsXJ4x1hHApqw7ff8y1ZSzW9SclC6xq0nFwIhGI978y4.jpeg?imwidth=680)
£100 electric spoon sold in Japan makes food taste saltier
Drinks giant develops specialised utensil aimed at enhancing flavour while promoting healthier eating
![Kirin's Electric Salt Spoons aim to cut sodium intake](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/world-news/2024/05/20/TELEMMGLPICT000378540264_17162157601350_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqsXJ4x1hHApqw7ff8y1ZSzW9SclC6xq0nFwIhGI978y4.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Japanese drinks giant Kirin Holdings will start selling an electrified spoon that researchers claim can promote healthier eating by enhancing salty tastes without extra sodium.
Monday’s product launch marks the first commercialisation of technology that last year won an Ig Nobel Prize, which honours unusual and whimsical research.
Kirin will sell just 200 of its Electric Salt Spoons online for 19,800 yen (£100) in May and a limited run at a Japanese retailer in June, but is hoping for one million users globally within five years. Sales overseas will start next year.
The spoon, made of plastic and metal, was co-developed with Homei Miyashita, a Meiji University professor who previously demonstrated the taste-enhancing effect in prototype electric chopsticks.
The effect works by passing a weak electric field from the spoon to concentrate sodium ion molecules on the tongue to enhance the perceived saltiness of the food.
![A weak electric field from the spoon concentrates sodium ion molecules on the tongue](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/world-news/2024/05/20/TELEMMGLPICT000378585523_17162162146300_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqdgELTCtQktz_Xm6eSh2RBtRq_lNqd8DXnfAOd6FE76Y.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Kirin, which is pivoting towards healthcare from its traditional beer business, said the technology has particular significance in Japan, where the average adult consumes about 10g of salt per day, double the amount recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Excess sodium intake is related to increased incidence of high blood pressure, strokes and other ailments.
“Japan has a food culture that tends to favour salty flavours,” said Ai Sato, a Kirin researcher.
“Japanese people as a whole need to reduce the amount of salt intake but it can be difficult to move away from what we’re used to eating. That’s what led us to develop this electric spoon.”
Weighing 60g, the spoon runs on a rechargeable lithium battery.
Prof Miyashita and Hiromi Nakamura, the co-creator, were presented with the Ig Nobel Nutrition Prize by Peter Doherty, an immunologist and Nobel Prize laureate, in an online ceremony last year.