Give Hidden Salt the Shake

It is wise to keep salt intake to six grams a day or less, according to the latest government guidelines. But it’s not always easy to determine salt content by taste. Now there is a portable monitor, Salt Chek, to help diners detect “hidden salt.”

When inserted into food, the battery-operated monitor registers salt content in milligrams per ounce, said Frank Bianco, president of Elexis Corp., the Miami manufacturer of $30 device, sold in drugstores. To find out salt content, users multiply the number of milligrams by the number of ounces in a portion.

“This monitor could be useful if people often eat out in restaurants,” said Diane Whelan , a Beverly Hills registered dietitian. But consumers must accurately measure portion size to correctly compute salt content, she said.