A battery-powered spoon that makes food taste saltier is now stores in Japan. It is called the Electric Salt Spoon. It was created researchers Tokyo's Meiji University and the Japanese drinks company Kirin. They hope their spoon will help people to cut down the amount salt they eat. The spoon sends a weak electric current the tongue. The current is too weak to be felt. However, it makes salt taste to one and a half times stronger. This means we can eat food less salt, but still sense a salty taste. Researcher Ai Sato said: "Japan has a food culture that tends to favour salty tastes. People need to reduce the amount salt in their food." However, she added that food no salt is bland and tasteless.
Salt is important our health. However, too much it can cause cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, strokes, and heart problems. These are the leading causes death globally. The World Health Organization recommends a daily salt intake less than 5 grams. In Japan, the average person has around 10.1g salt a day. That's higher than the average of 8.5g Americans. In many countries, around 75 per cent of salt the diet comes from processed foods, and from things soy sauce. The Electric Salt Spoon costs 19,800 yen (around $99). Kirin hopes to sell a million of them over the next five years. The spoon's developer has also created electric chopsticks. These will go sale next year.
