A device to calculate healthy salt dose has been developed by INEGI

It is a salt shaker capable of dosing the amount of salt recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which aims to promote healthier cooking at home and in the food industry, thus helping food policies to reduce salt intake.

The equipment was developed by INEGI, considering the needs identified by the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Science of the University of Porto (FCNAUP), and its patent application has already been submitted. "The idea of this research project is to develop and demonstrate, in a real environment, the application of a portable and easy-to-use instrument that provides different amounts of salt recommended for the preparation of meals for adults and children”, says Sílvia Esteves, responsible for the project at INEGI.

To use this innovative salt shaker, simply press the button corresponding to the number of people that will consume the meal - it is possible to choose between the adult and child dose - and then the corresponding recommended salt dose will be dispensed. "We develop from the concept and design of the equipment, to the construction and assembly of prototypes, using additive manufacturing processes,” she adds.

Coordinated by FCNAUP, the project called iMCSalt is being developed in scale for domestic and commercial application, will be tested in 260 Portuguese families and will be evaluated in canteens to determine the impact on salt monitoring and consumption.

Besides INEGI and FCNAUP, iMCSalt partners are also the Occupational Health Service of the São João Hospital at Porto, as well as the National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) and the Abel Salazar Institute of Biomedical Sciences - U.Porto (ICBAS).

The iMCSalt project is funded by the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and national funds (Portugal2020 and NORTE2020) through the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology (FCT).