Salty taste enhancer

Abstract

To provide a salty taste enhancer capable of enhancing salty taste in food or beverages without increasing the content of salt, and also to provide a food, beverage, seasoning, or the like which comprises the salty taste enhancer and whose salty taste is enhanced due to its salty taste-enhancing effect.SOLUTION: A salty taste enhancer for a food or beverage contains ergothioneine as an active ingredient. A food or beverage with enhanced salty taste can be obtained by incorporating ergothioneine as the salty taste enhancer in an amount of 0.5 ppm or more into a food or beverage containing 0.1 wt.% or more and less than 5 wt.% of salt, or in an amount of 0.1 ppm or more into a food or beverage containing 5 wt.% or more of salt.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a saltiness enhancer for enhancing the saltiness of food and beverages, and food and beverages such as foods, beverages, or seasonings containing the saltiness enhancer and having enhanced saltiness.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, there has been a social demand to reduce the intake of salt (sodium chloride) to prevent diseases such as hypertension, kidney diseases, and heart diseases, and there is a trend towards lower salt content in all food and beverages. However, simply reducing the salt content from conventional products makes the taste dull and unappetizing, and when using substitute salts such as potassium chloride, the taste deteriorates due to off-flavors such as bitterness. There is a known salt reduction method of increasing the umami taste such as dashi to compensate for the reduction in saltiness and satisfy the taste, but this method is limited to food and beverages where umami is an important taste, and even in that case, it is necessary to significantly increase the umami components.

[0003] Therefore, research and development of saltiness enhancing substances that can enhance the saltiness of food and beverages even when the salt content is reduced, and umami enhancing substances that can enhance the umami taste of food and beverages even with less salt, are underway. As such saltiness enhancing substances, Patent Document 1 describes a saltiness enhancer containing methional, 4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanoones, or 3-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanoones as active ingredients, and Patent Document 2 describes a saltiness enhancer containing niacin, salicin, or helicin. However, many of these saltiness enhancing substances are chemically synthesized substances, and some of them have not been confirmed for safety as foods.

[0004] In addition, as umami-enhancing substances, Patent Document 3 describes an umami enhancer containing N-(1-deoxy-D-fructose-1-yl)-pyroglutamic acid, N-(1-deoxy-D-fructose-1-yl)-valine, or N-(1-deoxy-D-fructose-1-yl)-methionine as an active ingredient, and Patent Document 4 describes an umami enhancer containing pyroglutamyl dipeptide as an active ingredient. Components contributing to umami are mainly amino acids and nucleic acids, and it is known that some nucleic acids have an umami-enhancing effect when combined with glutamic acid. In addition, Patent Document 5 describes a saltiness and / or umami enhancer containing trehalose as an active ingredient.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Patent Document 5

Patent Document 6

Non-Patent Documents

[0006]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a saltiness enhancer that can enhance saltiness without increasing the salt content of food and drink products containing salt. Another object is to provide food and drink products such as foods, beverages, or seasonings that contain the saltiness enhancer and have enhanced saltiness due to its saltiness enhancing effect.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0008] As a result of intensive research on substances that can enhance the saltiness of salt, the present inventors have found that ergothioneine, which can only be produced by some microorganisms such as fungi like mushrooms and Aspergillus oryzae, actinomycetes, and cyanobacteria, can enhance the saltiness of food and drink products containing salt when contained in trace amounts. Based on this finding, the present invention has been completed.

[0009] The present invention relates to the saltiness enhancer of [1] below, or food and drink products described in [2] to [5]. [1] A saltiness enhancer containing ergothioneine as an active ingredient. [2] A food and drink product with enhanced saltiness, which contains ergothioneine, a saltiness enhancer, in any of the following concentrations in a food and drink product containing salt. (1) 0.5 ppm or more of ergothioneine in a food and drink product with a salt content of 0.1% by weight or more and less than 5% by weight (2) 0.1 ppm or more of ergothioneine in a food and drink product with a salt content of 5% by weight or more [3] A food and drink product with enhanced saltiness, which contains 1 ppm or more of ergothioneine. [4] The food and drink product described in [2] or [3] above, wherein the food and drink product with enhanced saltiness is soy sauce, miso, fish sauce, mirin, bonito stock, soup stock, umami seasoning, fermented umami seasoning, ketchup, sauce, or mycoprotein. [5] The food and drink product described in [2] or [3] above, which is produced using an ergothioneine-high-producing Aspergillus oryzae strain.

Effects of the Invention

[0010] According to the saltiness enhancer of the present invention, by adding a very small amount of ergothioneine, the saltiness can be elicited while reducing the salt content in food and drink products, so that the saltiness can be enhanced naturally without impairing the flavor. Since not only the saltiness but also the umami can be enhanced, when added to umami-containing food and drink products, the umami is enhanced and the salt content can be further reduced. When consuming food and drink products such as seasonings, foods, and beverages added with this, the taste is maintained, so that the salt intake can be reduced without difficulty.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] The present invention relates to a saltiness enhancer for food and drink products containing ergothioneine as an active ingredient, and a food and drink product with enhanced saltiness containing ergothioneine as the saltiness enhancer. In the present invention, “%” means “% by weight” even if the unit is not specified, and 1 ppm is 0.0001% by weight.

[0012] Ergothioneine (hereinafter also referred to as “ERG”) was discovered as a sulfur-containing amino acid isolated from Claviceps purpurea and has been confirmed to be present in the living bodies of plants and animals. However, plants and animals cannot synthesize ergothioneine, and the ergothioneine in the living body is considered to be derived from ergothioneine synthesized by microorganisms such as basidiomycetes. It is contained in some edible mushrooms of basidiomycetes, for example, edible mushrooms such as shiitake mushroom, enoki mushroom, maitake mushroom, and eryngii mushroom, and is particularly known to be abundant in trametes versicolor. It is also known that Aspergillus oryzae produces ERG.

[0013] In microorganisms, the biosynthetic pathway of ERG from histidine is known, and the sulfur atom is supplied from cysteine. ERG has high antioxidant properties, and its elastase inhibitory and tyrosinase inhibitory effects have been reported, and it has attracted particular attention in the fields of beauty and food such as whitening and wrinkle prevention. In addition, it has been found that ERG is involved in the body's antioxidant defense system, and its application in the medical field has also been attempted. ERG has high thermal and pH stability, can maintain its antioxidant effect even at high temperatures, and is expected to be used in foods not only by being formulated into foods in anticipation of its physiological effects but also as an antioxidant.

[0014] As methods for producing ERG, extraction from basidiomycetes such as Lentinus edodes, chemical synthesis, and fermentation using microorganisms are carried out. Extraction from basidiomycetes such as Lentinus edodes takes time to obtain raw materials and is not suitable for mass production. Chemical synthesis is suitable for mass production, but it is necessary to use expensive synthetic reagents. Therefore, research on production methods by fermentation such as fermentation using C1 compound-assimilating bacteria or yeast, fermentation using microorganisms overexpressing the ERG biosynthetic gene, and solid culture using Aspergillus koji into which the ERG biosynthetic gene has been introduced to overexpress ERG (Non-Patent Document 1) is underway.

[0015] As the salt enhancer of the present invention, commercially available ERG by chemical synthesis may be used, or extracts and purified products thereof from mushrooms containing ERG, Aspergillus koji producing ERG and its culture, or sake lees produced using Aspergillus koji may also be used. In addition, for foods and drinks using Aspergillus koji as a raw material, the amount of ERG in the foods and drinks can be increased by using Aspergillus koji that highly produces ERG without adding ERG. As for the mushrooms used for the extraction of ERG, examples of preferred mushrooms include Pleurotus cornucopiae var. citrinopileatus, Pleurotus ostreatus, Lentinula edodes, Grifola frondosa, etc. which belong to the genus Pleurotus of the family Pleurotaceae, and one or more of these can be used in combination.

[0016] In addition, as the koji mold that produces ERG, any mold belonging to the genus Aspergillus can be used. As an example, Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus sojae, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus luchuensis, Aspergillus tamarii can be mentioned. As the strains of koji mold, for example, strains available from depository institutions such as Aspergillus oryzae RIB326 strain, strains contained in commercially available koji starters, or strains obtained by isolation from food and beverage manufacturing environments such as sake breweries and soy sauce brewing cellars can be used.

[0017] In addition, as the koji mold that produces ERG, in addition to the above wild strains, mutant strains with high ERG production can be isolated and used by using common mutagenesis methods. Examples of mutagenesis methods include treatment with ultraviolet (UV) or X-ray irradiation that physically damages DNA to introduce mutations, and treatment with alkylating agents such as N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NTG) and ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) that chemically damage DNA to introduce mutations.

[0018] Furthermore, an ergosterol (ERG)-high-producing koji strain into which a gene related to ERG biosynthesis has been introduced by genetic recombination can be used. For example, an Aspergillus mutant strain into which the egtA gene has been introduced (see Patent Document 6 and Non-Patent Document 1), or an Aspergillus-specific AO090005000664 gene (encoded amino acid sequence: SEQ ID NO: 1) into which a G428S mutation or a C459F mutation has been introduced, or a specific gene mutation such as deletion of 1 to 112 amino acids in the region of W404 to Q515, and its ortholog gene have been introduced to increase the expression of ERG, such as an Aspergillus mutant strain (see PCT / JP2023 / 020131), etc., but not limited thereto.

[0019] In this specification, an ERG-high-producing koji strain means that the produced ERG is 5 to 10 times or more, preferably 20 times or more higher than that of a strain that has not been mutated or transformed, in liquid culture at 20 to 30°C for 3 to 14 days (in a Pafumin SM medium (a solution prepared by adding 5 to 10% of Pafumin SM (manufactured by Kikkoman Corporation) to water and suspending it)). For example, an Aspergillus sojae strain in which the above egtA gene is forcibly expressed, or an Aspergillus oryzae mutant strain containing an amino acid mutation or amino acid deletion in the region of W404 to Q515 of the above mutant AO090005000664 gene and its ortholog gene corresponds thereto.

[0020] Also, when food and drink products are made from Aspergillus fermented products, such as soy sauce, sake, amazake, mirin, miso, etc., the ERG content in the food and drink products can be increased by using an ERG-high-producing koji strain for koji making without adding ERG during production. In particular, when an ERG-high-producing koji strain is used in the production of fermented foods, fermented beverages, and fermented seasonings, effects other than saltiness enhancement are exhibited compared to the case where ERG is added.

[0021] When the saltiness is enhanced, it means that the saltiness caused by these is felt stronger compared to the case without the saltiness enhancer of the present invention. Specifically, it means that even if the amount of salt is reduced by, for example, 1 to 50% by adding the saltiness enhancer, the same saltiness can be felt. Also, it means that even when the food or drink contains, for example, 1.1 to 2 times the amount of salt, the same saltiness can be felt by adding the saltiness enhancer. Alternatively, when the food or drink contains a small amount of salt and the saltiness cannot be felt, it means that the saltiness can be felt for the first time by adding the saltiness enhancer.

[0022] By adding the saltiness enhancer of the present invention to general foods and drinks at 1 ppm or more, for example, 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 ppm or more, or 40 ppm, 50 ppm or more, the saltiness enhancing effect of the foods and drinks can be exerted. Specifically, in foods and drinks containing salt, by adding ergothioneine, which is a saltiness enhancer, at 0.5 ppm or more in foods and drinks with a salt content of 0.1% by weight or more and less than 5% by weight, or at 0.1 ppm or more in foods and drinks with a salt content of 5% by weight or more, the saltiness of the foods and drinks is enhanced. Also, since the saltiness enhancing effect does not increase even if a large amount of the saltiness enhancer of the present invention is contained, considering economy, ERG can be contained in foods and drinks at 0.15% by weight or less, for example, 0.12 or 0.09% by weight or less, 0.06 or 0.03% by weight or less.

[0023] Also, the concentration of ERG is measured by LCMS under the following conditions. (HPLC conditions) HPLC analysis is performed under the following conditions. Apparatus: HPLC apparatus: HPLC: Nexera series (manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation) Column: COSMOSIL 2.5HILIC column 3.0×150 2.5μm 3.0 mmI.D.×15.0 cm (manufactured by Nacalai) Flow rate: 0.5 mL / min Temperature: 40°C Mobile phase: A) 0.1% (v / v) aqueous formic acid solution, B) 0.1 (v / v) formic acid acetonitrile Isocratic: 0 - 10 minutes (B: 80%) Injection volume: 5 μL (Mass spectrometry) Equipment: LCMS - 2020 (manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation) (Mass spectrometry (LC - MS) analysis conditions) Ionization conditions: ESI+ MS conditions: SIM ERG: m / z230.1 ([M + H] + ) Retention time: around 5 minutes

[0024] The food and drink of the present invention are food, beverages, or seasonings. The food can be used for all foods, preferably foods containing salt, and is not limited. For example, retort pouch foods such as curry, stew, and meat sauce, processed vegetable products such as salads and pickles, aquatic products such as salmon, tuna, sardines, shrimp, bonito, saury, squid, scallops, crabs, and oysters, processed aquatic and livestock foods such as kamaboko, hamburg, ham, and sausage, dairy products such as processed milk and fermented milk, cooked rice products such as onigiri, pilaf, fried rice, mixed rice porridge, tea - soaked rice, oyakodon, chuka don, and katsudon, cooked foods such as spring rolls, shumai, dumplings, curry, boiled foods, and fried foods, mycoprotein, pet food, medical foods, etc. are exemplified. Examples of mycoprotein include proteins derived from yeast, filamentous fungi, and fungi such as mushrooms.

[0025] The beverages are also not limited. For example, soft drinks, carbonated beverages, nutritional beverages, fruit beverages, lactic acid beverages, sports beverages, egg soup, wakame soup, Chinese - style soup, consommé soup, puree soup, etc., beverages such as oshiruko, miso soup, beer, shochu, cocktails, and nutritional drinks of quasi - drugs are exemplified. Not only liquid ones but also gel - like and semi - solid ones such as jelly beverages are included. The seasonings are also not limited. Examples include soy sauce, low - salt soy sauce, mirin, miso, fish sauce, cooking wine, soup stock, bonito stock, kelp stock, umami seasonings, fermented umami seasonings, sushi vinegar, tare, sauce, oyster sauce, cheese sauce, and other various sauces, ketchup, dressing, mayonnaise, etc.

[0026] The umami seasoning is a chemical seasoning obtained by purifying compounds having an umami taste, and specifically includes amino acid-based seasonings, nucleic acid-based seasonings, etc. Examples of amino acid-based seasonings include glutamic acid and its salts (such as sodium glutamate). Examples of nucleic acid-based seasonings include sodium inosinate and sodium guanylate. The fermented umami seasoning refers to protein enzyme decomposites such as wheat gluten and soybeans. In addition, when adding the saltiness enhancer of the present invention to the food or drink in the process of manufacturing the above food or drink, the addition time may be any process, and the addition method is not limited as long as the final product food or drink contains the required amount.

Example

[0027] Hereinafter, the details of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, when simply described as “%” in the examples, it means “% by weight”. Also, room temperature samples were used for the sensory evaluation.

[0028] [Test 1: Saltiness enhancing effect of NaCl solution by ERG] NaCl was added to pure water to prepare five NaCl samples with concentrations of 0.3%, 0.35%, 0.4%, 0.45%, and 0.5%, and as the sixth sample, a sample obtained by adding purified ergothioneine (purity 99.5% or more, Tetrahedron) to 0.4% NaCl so that the final concentration was 60 ppm was prepared. The saltiness was sensory evaluated by five trained saltiness-sensitive subjects, a professional panel. For the five professional panels, regarding the saltiness of the sixth 0.4% NaCl solution with 60 ppm ERG added, samples with equivalent saltiness were selected from the first to fifth NaCl samples (the concentrations were not disclosed to the panel). After tasting each sample, the mouth was thoroughly rinsed with room temperature water before tasting the next sample. As a result of the sensory evaluation, for the 6th sample of 0.4% NaCl with 60 ppm ERG added, all 5 panelists evaluated the saltiness as equivalent to that of the 0.45% NaCl solution. As a result, all 5 panelists evaluated that the saltiness was enhanced by the addition of 60 ppm ERG.

[0029] [Test 2: Amount of ERG added to enhance the saltiness of NaCl] (1) In the case of 0.1 - 20% NaCl samples Samples were prepared by adding ergothioneine to 0.1 - 20% NaCl samples so that the final concentrations were 0.05 ppm, 0.1 ppm, 0.25 ppm, and 0.5 ppm (ERG 0.05 - 0.5 in Table 1 below, and hereinafter, "ERGX" means a sample with X ppm of ERG added).

[0030] [Table 1]

[0031] For 0.1 - 20% NaCl samples with ERG added at each concentration (the concentration was not disclosed to the panel), a drinking test was conducted by 4 professional panelists using 0.1 - 20% NaCl samples without ergothioneine added as a control. Pairs combining the control 0.1 - 20% NaCl samples and 0.1 - 20% NaCl samples with ergothioneine added at each concentration were presented to the professional panelists, and the panelists evaluated which of the presented samples had a salty taste through a two - point discrimination test. The results are shown in Table 2.

[0032] [Evaluation method for two - point discrimination test] Evaluation results of the saltiness of the test samples compared to the control 〇: The saltiness is enhanced compared to the control. ◇: The saltiness is the same as the control. Note that the evaluation method for the two - point discrimination test and the display of its evaluation results are the same for other tests.

[0033] [Table 2]

[0034] Regarding the results of the sensory evaluation, for NaCl samples of 0.1% or more and less than 0.5%, when ergothioneine (ERG) was added at 0.5 ppm or more, all panelists evaluated that the saltiness was enhanced. For NaCl samples of 0.5% or more, when ERG was added at 0.1 ppm or more, all panelists evaluated that the saltiness was enhanced.

[0035] (2) In the case of 3% NaCl sample Samples (ERG 0.5 - 100) were prepared by adding ergothioneine to 3% NaCl samples so that the final concentrations were 0.5 ppm, 12 ppm, 24 ppm, 60 ppm, 72 ppm, and 100 ppm. For 3% NaCl samples with ERG added at each concentration, a drinking test was conducted by 4 professional panelists, and the saltiness was sensory-evaluated. For the 4 professional panelists, pairs of ERG-added 3% NaCl samples with sequentially different concentrations (for example, a pair of ERG 24 ppm and 60 ppm) were presented, and the panelists evaluated which of the presented samples had a salt taste by a two-alternative forced-choice test. The results are shown in Table 3.

[0036]

Table 3

[0037] For 3% NaCl samples with ERG added at 0.5 ppm or more, all panelists evaluated that the saltiness was enhanced. In addition, for the 3% NaCl sample with 72 ppm of ERG added, since 3 panelists evaluated that the degree of saltiness was the same as that of the sample with 60 ppm of ERG added, it was evaluated that even when 72 ppm of ERG was added, the degree of saltiness enhancement was the same as that with 60 ppm added, and it was confirmed that the saltiness enhancement effect became constant at ERG 60 ppm. From the above, in the 3% NaCl solution, when ERG was added at 0.5 ppm to 60 ppm, it was evaluated that the saltiness was sequentially enhanced as the addition amount increased. When it exceeded 60 ppm, the saltiness enhancement effect was the same as that in the case of 60 ppm addition.

[0038] [Test 3: Amount of ERG added to enhance the saltiness of soy sauce] (1) In the case of specially selected round soybean soy sauce Samples (ERG5 - 50) were prepared by adding ergothioneine to commercially available specially selected round soybean soy sauce (Kikkoman Corporation) so that the added concentrations were 5 ppm, 20 ppm, and 50 ppm. For the specially selected round soybean soy sauce with ergothioneine added at each concentration (the concentration was not disclosed to the panel), a tasting test was conducted by 4 professional panels using soy sauce without ergothioneine as a control. Pairs combining the control soy sauce and the soy sauce with ergothioneine added at each concentration were presented to the professional panels, and the panels evaluated which sample in the presented pairs felt saltier through a two - point discrimination test. The results are shown in Table 4.

[0039]

Table 4

[0040] (2) In the case of light - colored soy sauce The same two - point discrimination test was also conducted on commercially available light - colored soy sauce. The results are shown in Table 5.

Table 5

[0041] (3) In the case of low - salt soy sauce The same two - point discrimination test was also conducted on commercially available low - salt soy sauce. The results are shown in Table 6.

Table 6

[0042] [Test 4: Amount of ERG added to enhance the saltiness of yeast extract] Samples (ERG0.5 - 10) were prepared by adding ergothioneine to a 1% solution of yeast extract (Springer 0402 / 20 - MG - L) at concentrations of 0.5 ppm, 1 ppm, 3 ppm, 5 ppm, and 10 ppm. The saltiness and umami of the test products were evaluated by a two - point discrimination test by three professional panels and compared with a control without added ERG. The results of the sensory evaluation are shown in Tables 7 and 8 below.

[0043]

Table 7

Table 8

[0044] The saltiness and umami of the yeast extract were evaluated by all panelists as enhanced when 0.5 ppm or more of ERG was added.

[0045] [Test 5: Flavor - enhancing effect of ERG on various food and beverage products] For test products with ERG added to food and beverage products and control food and beverage products without added ERG, sensory evaluations were conducted by professional panels on how the saltiness of the test products compared to the control. The results of the sensory evaluations are shown in Tables 9 - 13 below. Note that "ERGX" for the test product means a test product with X ppm of ERG added. Sensory evaluation 〇: The saltiness is enhanced compared to the control. ◇: The saltiness is the same as the control.

[0046] (1) Cold buckwheat noodle soup A sensory test was conducted after adding 5 ppm of ERG to cold buckwheat noodle soup (straight soup: Kikkoman Corporation).

Table 9

[0047] (2) Miso Sensory tests were conducted on miso (Plus-koji non-added Koji beauty, Marukome Co., Ltd.) after adding 5 ppm of ERG.

Table 10

[0048] (3) Sauce Sensory tests were conducted on sauce (Delicious Sauce Tonkatsu, Kikkoman Corporation) after adding 5 ppm of ERG.

Table 11

[0049] (4) Salt koji Sensory tests were conducted on salt koji (Plus-koji raw salt koji, Marukome Co., Ltd.) after adding 5 ppm of ERG.

Table 12

[0050] (5) Tomato ketchup Sensory tests were conducted on tomato ketchup (Del Monte) after adding 5 ppm of ERG.

Table 13

[0051] [Test 5: Production of soy sauce] The defatted soybeans subjected to steaming denaturation and the crushed roasted wheat were mixed in equal amounts, inoculated with koji spores, and koji was made for 42 hours by a conventional method to obtain soy sauce koji. As the koji spores, an Aspergillus sojae mutant strain (Example 1) into which four copies of the egtA gene were introduced and the inserted gene was overexpressed, and an Aspergillus oryzae strain (Example 2) in which a G428S mutation was introduced into the AO090005000664 gene were each used. 100 parts by mass of the obtained soy sauce koji was charged into 130 parts by mass of brine (salt concentration 26% (w / v)), and flavor management was carried out according to a conventional method for 150 days at 25 to 30 °C with appropriate stirring to effect fermentation and aging. The aged flavors obtained were pressed and filtered to obtain raw soy sauce. The obtained raw soy sauce was sterilized at 80 °C for 1 hour and then clarified and filtered to obtain soy sauce. The concentration of ERG in the soy sauce obtained by the above-mentioned clarification and filtration was 566 ppm in Example 1 and 250 ppm in Example 2. Compared with commercially available products, the soy sauce of the examples had enhanced umami, saltiness, and sweetness. Furthermore, in the filtration step of soy sauce production, the pressability was improved and the workability was enhanced.

Claims

1. A salty taste enhancer whose active ingredient is ergothioneine.

2. A food or drink containing salt and containing ergothioneine, a salty taste enhancer, at any of the following concentrations to enhance the saltiness. (1) 0.5 ppm or more of ergothioneine in food or beverages with a salt content of 0.1% by weight or more and less than 5% by weight (2) Ergothioneine at 0.1 ppm or more in foods and beverages with a salt content of 5% by weight or more

3. A food or drink containing 1 ppm or more of ergothioneine and having an enhanced salty taste.

4. 4. The food or drink according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the food or drink with enhanced saltiness is soy sauce, miso, fish sauce, mirin, bonito stock, soup, umami seasoning, fermented umami seasoning, ketchup, sauce, or mycoprotein.

5. The food or drink according to claim 2 or 3, which is produced using an ergothioneine-rich Aspergillus oryzae strain.

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