Thanks the work of scientists at the LSU AgCenter, Louisiana’s salt intake is about to get microscopic.
Marvin Moncada has been working to develop “nanosalt” for the past three years. This new development is still salt, just smaller. The nanosalt is a powdered form of salt particles that are approximately 1,000 times smaller than a normal grain of salt.
Because nanosalt is just smaller salt particles, consumers are able to cover the same amount of food surface area with less salt. As of now, nanosalt only works with topical food products, or foods that add salt after the product has been made, because the particles are too small to be mixed with water during the actual baking process.
The nanosalt is made using a nanospray dryer, which sprays and heats saltwater until the water evaporates and the salt crystals are broken up into a powder. Because each nanosalt crystal is smaller than a normal crystal of kosher salt, the same salty taste can be achieved with fewer salt crystals.
Moncada became interested in nanotechnology while working on his Ph.D. three years ago. Nanotechnology is used in everything from making clothes to developing medications, but there had not been much work with nanoparticles in the food industry when Moncada and his fellow scientists started their research.
According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nine out of 10 Americans eat more salt than the daily recommendation of 2,300 mg. Louisiana’s adult obesity rate of 34.9 percent, making it the fourth fattest state in America, and much of that is caused by too much salt in Southern food. In fact, crawfish season is one of the busiest times for cardiologists in Louisiana due to the large amount of salt used in seafood seasoning, according to a spokesperson from the LSU Health Sciences Center.
Excess salt in the body is one of the leading causes of heart disease, high blood pressure and strokes. Moncada says people spend too much time worrying about how much sugar they are consuming and not enough time looking at their sodium intake.
“What we really should be worrying about is how much salt we are eating,” he said. “Salt is harder to get out of the body because it gets into the bloodstream, and sugar doesn’t do that.”
Moncada tested the nanosalt on cheese crackers made in AgCenter kitchens. During a blind taste test, consumers said they couldn’t tell the difference between the crackers with 25 percent less, 50 percent less and the normal amount of salt.
LSU is currently in the process of patenting the nanosalt technology and hopes it can soon begin working with food companies that can use the technology on their products. Moncada said this breakthrough can be one of the first steps in lowering the state’s obesity rates.
“Louisiana has these types of problems in our society, and if we have a better knowledge of the dangers of having a high amount of sodium in our bodies, we will be able to save a lot of lives and a lot of money for our health systems,” he said.

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LSU AgCenter researcher Marvin Moncada and his teamrecently discovered a way to use less salt and produce the same amount of flavor.