A beverage company in Japan has come up with a spoon that claims to enhance the taste of salt without increasing one's sodium intake.
The high-tech spoon works by emitting a weak electric field that concentrates sodium ion molecules on the tongue, which produces a saltier taste, WKRC reports.
The spoon was created with the help of Homei Miyashita, a professor at Meiji University who previously demonstrated his electric take on nutrition with electrified chopsticks.
Miyashita's discovery won an Ig Nobel Prize in 2023, an award for novel inventions and strange developments in science.
The spoon works by emitting a weak electric field that concentrates sodium ion molecules on the tongue, which produces a saltier taste.
Kirin's new invention comes from hopes to decrease salt consumption in Japan, as the average Japanese adult consumes double the amount of salt recommended by the World Health Organization.
"Japan has a food culture that tends to favor salty flavors," a researcher from Kirin says.
"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."
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