• What food sector needs to know about how

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Monday, April 18, 2022 22:30:46
    What food sector needs to know about how to reduce sodium

    Date:
    April 18, 2022
    Source:
    University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and
    Environmental Sciences
    Summary:
    Sodium is an essential micronutrient, but the amount we need
    is small.

    Three slices of bread or one teaspoon of table salt will do it,
    and chances are your daily sodium intake is far greater. More
    than 90% of Americans consume too much sodium, which can lead to
    hypertension, high blood pressure, and increased risk of heart
    disease and stroke. A new article provides a comprehensive review
    of scientific literature on sodium reduction strategies in food
    production.



    FULL STORY ========================================================================== Sodium is an essential micronutrient, but the amount we need is
    small. Three slices of bread or one teaspoon of table salt will do it,
    and chances are your daily sodium intake is far greater. More than 90%
    of Americans consume too much sodium, which can lead to hypertension,
    high blood pressure, and increased risk of heart disease and stroke.


    ==========================================================================
    Most of the excess sodium comes from processed and packaged foods, so
    the food industry and food scientists continuously look for ways to
    reduce sodium. A new paper from the University of Illinois provides
    a comprehensive review of scientific literature on sodium reduction
    strategies in food production.

    "Sodium overconsumption is a huge health concern, and the FDA has
    recommended sodium reduction in food since the 1980s, but we haven't
    succeeded yet. While the unit volume of salt in the food supply has not increased, the amount of sodium consumption has gone up, because we just consume a lot of food," says Soo-Yeun Lee, professor in the Department
    of Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) at U of I and co-author on
    the paper.

    We only need around 450 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day, and the
    recommended maximum amount is 2,300 mg, or 1,500 mg for those at risk
    for hypertension. But average consumption exceeds 3,000 to 3,500 mg per
    day -- or 50% to 100% above the upper limit. More than 70% of our sodium
    intake comes from processed and packaged foods, primarily cured meats,
    bread, cheese, and soups.

    The researchers conducted a scoping review including primary studies, literature reviews, book chapters, and patents covering sodium reduction
    in food products. They focused on studies that included sensory data with
    human subjects, because palatability is essential for consumer acceptance.

    "In this review, we looked at different food systems. The way you would
    reduce salt in a solid system, like a topical application on snack foods,
    such as salted peanuts or salted chips, would be very different from
    embedded application in semi-solid foods like cheese or bread. And in
    a liquid system like soup, where it is completely dissolved, it would
    be really different in the way we could reduce salt yet provide the palatability it gives," Lee states.



    ========================================================================== "We're hoping this work will provide insight into the wide variety of
    salt- reducing technologies that exist. This can help food companies
    be more informed to use different strategies than what they have been
    doing," she adds.

    The researchers identified five main strategies: Salt reduction, salt replacers, flavor modification, physical modification, and functional modification.

    "The most obvious one is to remove salt from the recipe, and that is
    a key component in all of the strategies when sodium reduction is the
    goal," says Aubrey Dunteman, graduate student in FSHN and lead author
    on the paper.

    But it is not possible to completely eliminate sodium, because it has
    both sensory and functional properties. For example, it is used for meat preservation and to make bread dough rise.

    "A lot of the studies we looked at combined more than one method, such
    as salt removal with salt replacers and flavor modification or salt
    removal and physical modification," Dunteman says.



    ==========================================================================
    Many studies used salt replacers such as potassium chloride, calcium
    chloride, or other chloride or acid salts. However, these substitutes
    tend to have a bitter taste, so they are often used in combination with
    flavor modifications, such as umami substances or bitter blockers.

    "Another method is physical modification. For example, you can encapsulate
    the salt crystals, which changes how the salt is dissolved in the
    mouth. This can alter the saltiness perception allowing for a reduction
    in the amount of sodium necessary to create the salty taste. You can also create an uneven distribution of the salt in a product that can further
    help enhance the perceived saltiness of the food product through taste contrast," Dunteman explains.

    "Finally, there is functional modification. For example, you could move
    away from a sodium-based preservative in cured meats, perhaps using
    a celery-powder preservative instead of sodium nitrate." Functional modification is less represented in the scoping review because this type
    of sodium reduction research typically does not incorporate a sensory
    component as a main assessment method, Dunteman notes.

    If consumers want to reduce their salt intake, the best strategy is to
    cook your own food and limit your consumption of processed and packaged
    foods. You can also wean yourself off salt with practice, essentially
    go on a "salt diet." "If you're cooking at home, you can intentionally
    reduce salt and you'll appreciate the reduced saltiness perception as
    time goes on. People can adjust to the reduced salt level, but it's a
    learning and adapting process. You can also add flavor enhancers such
    as herbs and spices," Lee suggests.

    "If you are a consumer of canned soup, for example, you can buy a
    low-sodium version and add salt. Then you can gradually modify the amount
    of salt you add, so you can make it palatable to your taste," she notes.

    The research was supported by the Institute for the Advancement of
    Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS) through an ILSI North America
    Sodium Committee grant. IAFNS is a non-profit science organization that
    pools funding from industry collaborators and advances science through
    the in-kind and financial contributions from public and private sector participants. IAFNS had no role in the design, analysis, interpretation,
    or presentation of the data and results.


    ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Illinois_College_of_Agricultural,_Consumer and_Environmental_Sciences. Original written by Marianne Stein. Note:
    Content may be edited for style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Aubrey N. Dunteman, Elle N. McKenzie, Ying Yang, Youngsoo Lee,
    Soo‐Yeun Lee. Compendium of sodium reduction strategies in
    foods: A scoping review. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science
    and Food Safety, 2022; 21 (2): 1300 DOI: 10.1111/1541-4337.12915 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220418164931.htm

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