Ingredient suppliers are launching sodium chloride replacement solutions in a bid to boost profits, as fresh anxieties over salt levels spread throughout the industry.
Last month a study found that if adults in the US reduced their intake of salt by 1g per day, it would reduce cases of heart disease by 250M and prevent over 200,000 deaths over a decade, according to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco. So with salt barely out of the headlines, ingredients manufacturers have been looking at ways to boost their profits by producing "healthier alternatives"
Ingredients supplier, Givaudan, for example, claims to have developed a new and improved method of replacement, having already undertaken several projects with manufacturers throughout last year - when its salt replacement activities "saw double digit growth". Givaudan says that the new method measures taste perception throughout several phases - including the initial 'bite', then the 'body' or 'mouth-feel', followed by its lingering profile. The measurements are taken and a visual representation is recreated - "a salt curve". By finding bespoke replacements, which replicate each phase, a satisfactory replacement can be found, it says. "We understand that high levels of salt in foods are no longer acceptable to the consumer," says Andreas Haenni, Givaudan's global head of savoury. "Our approach is one of asking what makes food taste great rather than just thinking of salt in isolation."
Ingredients supplier DSM has also launched Maxarite Delite in a bid to reduce salt levels in processed and cream cheese by up to 50%. It says the ingredient will help manufacturers stay "in line with governmental initiatives for reduced salt intake"
A new product development manager for a large meat processor is less convinced. She says: "I'm sure there are some excellent salt replacements on the market, but half of the problem is that salt is a very cheap ingredient to use - and at the moment most retailers are telling us to keep costs down."
The launches of low-salt alternatives follow last month's hysteria over pretzels, as the Association of German Bakers was up in arms over EC regulations, which propose to restrict healthy-eating claims on salty products. The EC responded, saying that its aim was not to ban or regulate products high in salt.