Following customer demand and an extensive development process, Salt of the Earth developed Mediterranean Umami Powder – based on its all-natural Mediterranean Umami liquid – microencapsulated onto a carrier of sea salt and native starch.
Mediterranean Umami comprises a proprietary blend of vegetable extracts and sea salt, with no artificial ingredients, no MSG or yeast extracts. It is vegan and holds high Kosher Certification, as well as being Halal and GMO-free.
“Many customers requested a powder version,” said David Hart, business unit director for Salt of the Earth. “The powder is a focused solution and does an amazing job cutting sodium in snacks without sacrificing flavour.”
The powder is designed as a 1:1 drop-in replacement for salt in snack applications, resulting in a 40% reduction in sodium, without diminishing the saltiness that consumers still demand.
“One of the key requirements was to maintain a craveable salty and savoury flavour, as well as being a natural and clean-label ingredient,” added Hart.
“Since snack foods typically have a relatively high amount of sodium, Mediterranean Umami powder can provide up to 40% reduction in sodium, or be used incrementally, in order to allow for a significant but lesser reduction in the amount of sodium in the snacks.
“When incorporated as an addition to a seasoning blend, it can then be applied to the snacks using dusting, tumbling or oil slurry technologies.”
According to Hart, it can also be used by spice blenders and flavour houses as it works in harmony with complex flavour systems.
Too much salt
The launch comes hot on the heels of the European Commission’s release of its Farm 2 Fork Strategy, in which it claims the diets of Europeans are “not in line with dietary recommendations and the food environment does not always allow the healthy option to be the easiest option.”
As such, it announced it will be launching initiatives to “stimulate reformulation of processed food, including the setting of maximum levels for certain nutrients”, including salt.
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that most people consume around twice the 5g recommended maximum level of salt, leading to increased risk of cardiovascular disease for some adults.
According to Salt of the Earth, the growing awareness among consumers to reduce their salt intake and thus, the increased demand for a powdered sodium-reduction solution, encouraged it to develop the new product.