Kirin, a Japanese brand known worldwide for its beers, took advantage of CES 2025 in Las Vegas to unveil the "electric salt spoon". This amazing accessory is designed to make your dishes saltier without adding salt. Note that we had the chance to discover and test the electric spoon during our visit to CES. We invite you to watch the report made on site below.
Electricity to replace salt
As the Japanese firm explains in a press release, the spoon is capable of "improving the taste of the meal" by using a "weak electric current". An electrical signal will be sent to the user's tongue to simulate the taste of salt. In concrete terms, the spoon will gather the sodium ions present in food, which intensifies its salty taste and umami, one of the five basic flavors, along with sweet, salty, bitter and sour. In fact, a dish seems saltier, even if it contains less salt. The spoon can be used "with soups with a lot of ingredients, curry, fried rice, food in a bowl, ramen noodles and other meals in general". It measures 5 cm long and weighs 60 g.
The accessory is equipped with a physical button that allows you to select the intensity level. The higher the level, the saltier the taste of the food will be. We tested the spoon with a miso soup, and the results were rather convincing. Kirin obviously specifies that "the sensation can vary depending on the dish" and the individuals. In addition, "minors and people with a pacemaker or other medical electrical device" are not allowed to use the tool.
The innovation aims to help consumers reduce the amount of salt in their meals. The World Health Organization (WHO) advises adults to consume no more than 2,000 mg of sodium per day. Unfortunately, it turns out that most people consume more than double the recommended daily allowance. Excess salt is associated with adverse health effects, including high blood pressure, which can lead to cardiovascular diseases such as strokes and heart attacks. The WHO believes that "1.89 million deaths each year are associated with excessive sodium consumption."
Chopsticks and bowls in sight
The Japanese firm marketed the spoon in very limited quantities in Japan last year. It was sold for around 120 euros. The company aims to sell the device worldwide in the coming years. It aims to have one million customers within five years.
For the record, Kirin’s spoon is based on technology that won the 2023 Ig-Nobel Prize, a parody award that highlights the most original research. Based on this technology, the result of many years of academic research, Kirin explains that it also intends to develop “chopsticks and bowls”. The company claims to have "decided to develop and market a spoon first, taking into account the technical characteristics and meals for which consumer needs are important.".
Source: Kirin
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