$1 million donation for salt perception research

The Monell Center, a non-profit independent research institute, has received $1 million from food chemistry consultant Louise Slade to support the institute’s research program on the mechanism of human salt detection and perception.

“We are deeply grateful to Louise for this important gift,” said Monell director Gary K Beauchamp. “The development of practical and successful methods to reduce salt intake likely will not be possible without a more thorough understanding of exactly how humans detect salty taste and the factors that modify salty taste acceptance.”

It has been estimated that reducing sodium intake could prevent more than 100,000 deaths annually and save the United States billions of dollars in medical costs. Despite this, the call to reduce salt intake has not been successful. However, the basic mechanisms underlying detection and acceptance of salty taste are not fully understood.

“Monell’s broad collective approach to science produces knowledge that can benefit lives on a daily basis,” said Slade. “Moreover, the basic scientists at Monell communicate directly with the food industry, which is essential if industry is to successfully reduce the amount of sodium in processed food, by far the greatest source of sodium in our diets.”

Originally trained as a protein chemist, Slade retired in 2006 after a 27-year career in the food industry. Author of over 240 papers and holding 35 patents for novel food ingredients, products and processes, she now is a principal of Food Polymer Science Consultancy. With a desire to contribute to the science of flavour, she currently holds an appointment as an Affiliated Scientist at Monell and serves on the Center’s International Advisory Council.

“My overarching question is: how can we make food more healthy?” Slade said. “This is why it is so important for us to understand how salty taste works. And no place is better able than the Monell Center to address this vital problem from a scientific perspective.”

Slade donated $1 million to the Monell Center in 2008, which was used to purchase a multiphoton microscope, a piece of equipment needed for Monell scientists to advance their work on taste receptor function in living cells.