Japan develops electronic chopsticks to increase the salty taste

Type electronic chopsticks specially developed by Professor Homei Miyashita of Meiji University and beverage manufacturer Kirin Holdings Co. Chopsticks can help increase the sense of taste using electrical stimulation and a mini computer strapped to the user’s sleeve.

According to Professor Miyashita, the mini awakener uses a weak electric current to transfer sodium ions from food through chopsticks to the mouth, helping to create a taste of 1.5 times more salty.

Reportedly, Professor Miyashita and his lab have been researching different ways this technology can interact and stimulate the human senses. Professor Miyashita also developed a tasteable TV screen, which allows the simulation of different flavors of food.

Seasoning chopsticks may be particularly suitable for use in Japan, where the taste of salt is preferred in the traditional diet, experts say. The average Japanese adult consumes about 10 g of salt per day, twice the amount recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Excess salt intake has been linked to high blood pressure, stroke, and other illnesses.

According to researcher Ai Sato from Kirin company, to prevent these diseases, it is necessary to reduce the amount of salt consumed. If we try to eat less salt in the usual way, then we need to work hard to cut back on our favorite foods or have to eat them lightly.

Professor Miyashita and Kirin researchers are currently working on the first electronic chopstick model and hope to commercialize it in 2023.

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