The Food Chain

BBC World Service

The Food Chain examines the business, science and cultural significance of food, and what it takes to put food on your plate.

Categories: Arts

Listen to the last episode:

Do you know how much salt you should be eating?

And if I tell you it’s less than 5 grams a day, do you know how much that is?

Ruth Alexander explores the wonder of salt and why chefs think their job would be pointless without it and why the impact it’s having on the food might surprise you.

Professor Paul Breslin tells us about the “magical” chemical reaction happening on your tongue when you eat salt, and why your brain responds to that.

We hear about what eating too much salt can do to you from an expert in Australia, as well as a mother in Kazakhstan who cut out salt almost completely – in a country which has one of the highest consumptions in the world.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

Presented by Ruth Alexander

Produced by Hannah Bewley

(Image: A chef sprinkles salt on a pan of food. Credit: BBC)