Jungbunzlauer targets salt and sugar reduction

The firm, a leading manufacturer of citric acid, xanthan gum and gluconates, has targeted reducing the salt and sugar content of various products as a key objective.

To this end, the group plans to highlight its sub4salt product, which is designed to help food makers substitute sodium without compromising product quality.

Jungbunzlauer claims that sub4salt is a new, patent-pending mineral salts blend that can reduce the sodium content up to 50 per cent, and achieve identical taste profiles in final products.

Numerous public health campaigns, which have been drawing increasing attention to the perceived health risks associated with excessive salt consumption, have made the food industry vulnerable. In the UK for example, currently 75 per cent of consumer's salt intake is derived from processed foods.

Finding alternative ways to reduce sodium content without disastrous results in taste has become a priority. But one problem in the past has been the fact that salt reducers and replacers have tended to be very expensive and often inefficient in terms of taste.

Jungbunzlauer therefore hopes to convince food makers that its new ingredient represents a break from the past.

In addition, the firm claims that its organic mineral salts have received support from the new EU health claims legislation, due to their "high effectiveness when used for fortification in human studies"​, according to a company statement.

Supporting information on potassium (heart health), calcium (bone health, anti-obesity) and magnesium (bioavailability) will also be presented. And in the USA, Jungbunzlauers trimagnesium citrates recently received a self-affirmed confirmation on their GRAS-status. This means that these magnesium salts can now be used not only in dietary products, but also for mineral fortification in food and beverages.

Finally, Jungbunzlauer will be highlighting erythritol, a novel bulk sweetener that just recently received approval from the European Commission. The EC Council of Health Ministers finalised the legislative to approve the use of erythritol in foods, under the same conditions as other polyols, by adopting all amendments to the relevant directives voted by the European Parliament in October last year.

Erythritol is a non-caloric bulk sweetener with a sweetness intensity 70 per cent that of sucrose. It is the first polyol to be industrially manufactured by a fermentation process and offers both health and indulgence properties.

Jungbunzlauer said that it features a glycaemic index of zero, and a high digestive tolerance. It can work synergistically with high intensity sweeteners to replace sucrose in a wide range of applications.

Three countries The Netherlands, Belgium and Finland have already given permission for the use of erythritol in foods.

Health Ingredients Europe runs from the 15 to 16 November in Frankfurt, Germany.