Corn yields salt substitute.

A Michigan State University scientist has shown that corn isn't just a food that sits on the cob waiting to be salted. He has taken scientific discovery out of the laboratory and into the entrepreneurial mainstream. Kris Berglund has developed a way to turn corn into a salt substitute that lacks both sodium and the bitter taste that plagues other salt substitutes.

HalsoSalt(r) is made from cornstarch that is fermented to produce lysine, a salty amino acid. Berglund and his research team devised a way to turn powdered lysine into a crystal, so that it looks and functions like salt. It sprinkles, dissolves and cooks. For consumers, this is a natural salt substitute and a palatable way to reduce their intake of added salt. The technology also holds open a new market for corn.

Michigan State University has applied for a U.S. patent on HalsoSalt, and the technology is licensed to Lec Tech Inc., which is owned by Berglund.

The substitute is available in the United States and Japan. Four seasoned flavors are on the market: garlic, butter, lemon pepper and jalapeno.

Berglund isn't stopping there. The company has introduced soy nuts seasoned with the substitute. They maintain a salty flavor without sodium, we're told. It's the beginning of a new product line of snack foods and prepared foods using HalsoSalt.

Americans consume up to 10 lb of salt per year. Salt substitutes on the market have two weaknesses that researchers set out to solve. One substitute simply includes less sodium. Another form of salt substitute relies solely on potassium, which has an unpleasant taste.

In addition to providing salty flavor, lysine masks the taste of potassium. The discovery that lysine monohydrochloride masks the bitter taste of potassium was a surprising achievement, the investigators tell us. Equally important was the development of a crystallization process that makes lysine look like salt.

The British Technology Group (BTG, 2200 Renaissance Blvd., Gulph Mills, PA 19406) is looking to license a process for making a salt substitute as well as the granule itself. The advantage of the technology: the taste of salt can be achieved with much less sodium chloride and without the bitter or metallic taste associated with other salt substitutes, such as potassium chloride. Since salt is frequently used, there is a benefit to be derived from a salt substitute that is indistinguishable from ordinary salt. A potential market exists for a low-sodium salt substitute applied topically to snacks.

The BTG substitute is based on agglomerating sugar, which has been desweetened, with sodium chloride. This enables the product to exhibit many of the physical characteristics of sodium chloride, including its white color and flow characteristics. Its uses are limited to dry applications. The technology could replace salt used in salted snacks. It should make it possible to make snacks that have less salt, but which still taste salty. The ingredients used in the process are considered GRAS. This technology, which tastes as salty as table salt but contains less sodium, would be very valuable in balancing the diets of those who need to limit their sodium intake.

Further information. Kris Berglund, Lec Tech Inc., 16647 Chandler Rd., E. Lansing, MI 48823; phone: [phone] or 517-332-4610; fax: [phone]; URL: http://www.halsosalt.com. At BTG: Laurie Tzodikov; phone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; email: [e-mail].