Big Cuts in Sodium Possible with only Tiny Liking Drop
The general public consumes far too much salt which negatively impacts health. As 75% of our dietary salt is hidden in the processed foods that we eat, manufacturers are being pressurised (via voluntary salt targets) to reduce sodium content of their products.
However, manufacturers can have difficulty in achieving these targets as:
- Salt provides functionality to foods (rheological, preservative)
- Salt is key in the flavour profile of foods
With regards to the latter, research from an Australian University has found that a 50% reduction of sodium (the main component of salts) results in only a minor decrease in liking and no effect on consumption.
The research, performed by the Sensory Science Group at Deakin University in Australia and published in the Journal of Food Science, suggests that an individual's salt taste sensitivity has no association with the liking or consumption of salty, or reduced salt, foods.
The study used hash browns with varying salt intensity and found no overall association between dietary sodium intake, liking of hash browns and hash brown intake. The researchers said that intake and liking of hash browns as part of a meal were not significantly affected, even when the sodium concentration was reduced by 80%.
Such research will perhaps alleviate some concerns within the food industry, which has come under increasing pressure in many countries to reduce the sodium levels in their foods, given that 70-80% of the public's daily sodium consumption comes from processed foods.
This research helps to show that reduced sodium products will not be liked to any great extent less, nor be consumed any less than their more salt competitors.
Written December 23, 2010
