Electric fork zaps a salty taste to your tongue without the sodium

If you love salt but you're worried about your sodium intake, a new futuristic fork could save your life.

This week, a two-day trial was conducted at a restaurant in Tokyo offering a salt-free five-course meal to patrons. The star of the show was an "electro fork" that can send a salty taste to your taste buds when its button is depressed.

The salty taste is triggered by a current generated by the utensil, and the fork is able to mimic sour, bitter and metallic taste sensations. A sweet taste is sorely missing however — bad news for dessert fans.

A patron at the restaurant said he was surprised at how convincing the salty taste was: