New strategies for salt reduction
Reducing salt in food products is a key challenge for the industry, but reducing salt can impact consumer perceptions of taste and preference. Is it possible to maintain, or boost salt intensity and flavours, whilst reducing actual salt levels?
Dr. Kerstin Burseg, scientist and product manager at NIZO food research, says that more traditional sodium replacement techniques with, for example, potassium salts, can be associated with off tastes and so alter consumer preferences.
Burseg says that new solutions being developed at NIZO aim to address this problem by increasing consumers’ perceptions of intense salt tastes, meaning actual salt levels can be reduced without changing flavour perception.
“We have identified different strategies, including taste enhancements and smart texture solutions, where we can boost the concentration, in terms of intensity of a certain salt level in the product,” said Dr Burseg.
