No man is an island
Never we're John Donne's words more appropriate than in today's global village. Operating in an international environment can only benefit from broad-based relationships and a knowledge of what is going on around the world. Louis Pasteur, whose public health achievements I've described in two textbooks once said, "Chance favors the prepared mind." In keeping with that precept, the Salt Institute has maintained a close relationship with The Salt Science Research Foundation (SSRF) in Japan, exchanging technical information and new developments, whenever possible. On October 16, Mr. Hitoshi Kusume, President of the Salt Science Research Foundation, and Mr. Kiyoshi Kawabata, Associate General Manager, visited the Salt Institute and had an excellent meeting with Dick Hanneman who assisted them with visits to other venues in North America.
While on a private visit to Japan, I took the opportunity to return the visit and dropped by the SSRF offices in Tokyo where I was kindly received by Mr. Kawabata and the Managing Director, Dr. Tsutomu Ikeda.
The SSRF has significant funding from the Japanese government and is able to sponsor a significant amout of truly cutting edge research in a variety of salt-related areas. Among the projects we had an opportunity to discuss were genetic analysis being carried out on a range of hypertension and salt-sensitivity areas, as well as salt tolerance/acclimatization and taste response research using the latest DNA microarray analysis methods. Whenever possible, we will continue to share and exchange knowlege with colleagues in the salt sector on both sides of the Atalantic and Pacific to everyone's mutual benefit.
