ELIMINATE OTHER SODIUM SOURCES. Despite being sodium chloride the main source of sodium (real culprit of negative health effects), some sodium is also naturally present in food, and various additives as preservatives, antioxidants, emulsifiers, etc. can contain it, e.g. sodium bicarbonate and other raising agents, sodium phosphates, sodium glutamate, sodium benzoate, sodium propionate, sodium lactate, sodium caseinate, sodium ascorbate, sodium nitrite and nitrate, etc. Therefore, another small but potentially important reduction can be achieved reducing or eliminating these substances, or using other salts (e.g. calcium or potassium salts instead of sodium).
SALT SUBSTITUTES. Potassium chloride has been used for a long time in special food products aimed at people with hypertension, in partial or total substitution of sodium chloride. Potassium chloride shortcoming is its bitter aftertaste that makes it not always feasible a total substitution, and its salty taste is not as powerful as that of sodium chloride. Furthermore, high doses of potassium can be dangerous for some individuals, e.g. for whom that takes drugs increasing potassium levels in blood. Other substitutes can be potassium lactate (particularly in meat products) and magnesium chloride (but only little amounts can be used due to its laxative effect). These substitutes often have a considerable higher cost compared to table salt. Also mixtures of them (e.g. sodium chloride with potassium chloride and sodium gluconate) are available on the market, in order to obtain a balanced taste.
FLAVOURS ENHANCERS. When a salt reduction greater than 25% is required, it is necessary to add other substances to give food enough taste and flavour to compensate savoury loss. These substances are often able to directly stimulate tongue taste buds, particularly those of savoury and umami taste, or alternatively they can emphasize the organoleptic profile compensating the salt reduction with aromas that stimulate olfactory receptors, which are always deeply involved in food like/dislike perceptions. The list of flavour enhancers is long; the most used or promising are now described; some of them allow to reach as far as 50% salt reduction.
– Glutamate and nucleotide derivates: they are able both to enhance food salty taste and to directly stimulate umami receptors (“5th taste”). Many of these substances are naturally present in various foods, particularly meat, fish and crustaceous, cheeses, mushrooms, algae, and some vegetables. They are widely used to enhance taste in many industrial foods, and are the base of stock and bouillon cubes. Glutamic acid is an aminoacid important for correct brain functioning, but is toxic in high amounts. Nucleotide derivates (e.g. disodium inosinate, disodium guanilate, purinic ribonucleotides as guanosin-monophosphate, inosin-monophosphate, xantosin-monophosphate, etc.) are obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of microbic RNA. They are active at very low concentration (from ca. 0.01%) and act in synergy with glutamate, therefore they are often used together. The biggest world producers of these substances are located in Asia.
– Yeast extracts: they are widely used for their ability to enhance flavour in a “natural way”, therefore they are often present in stock or bouillon preparations, soups, sauces, ready-to-eat meals, savoury snacks, etc. The substances at the base of yeast extracts effect are actually the same as already seen: glutamate and nucleotide derivates, which are in fact very often extracted from yeast.
– Algae extracts: algae have been used for centuries in Far East cuisine to enhance food flavour. Granules from brown algae of Baltic sea have been experimented (3) in some food preparations for partial salt substitution, without taste alterations, and enhancing shelf life probably due to natural antimicrobial substances. Algae contain a variety of sea salts, of which just 3.5% is represented by sodium, against 40% in table salt.
– Soy sauce: this condiment made with fermented soya has also been used for centuries in Far East cuisine, particularly to enhance flavour of vegetables, meat and fish. Consumer tests have shown that soy sauce can substitute from 30 to 50% of table salt with acceptable organoleptic profile (4).
– Spices and flavourings: among the many spices added to enhance food taste and flavour, spicy plants as pepper, chili pepper and mustard, are able not only to enhance flavour profile but also to stimulate specific “pain” receptors; these are present in the oral mucosa and when stimulate provoke the typical “spicy” sensation given by substances as capsaicin; such intense sensation can mask the lack of salt, but these spices suit only a restrict range of foods and customers.
– Flavourings: several companies are specialized in the production of flavouring substances or mixtures of them, tailored to the various food products and to the desired salt reduction level.
Bibliography
1) Source: Brenntag International (from Business Insights)
2) http://www.foodnavigator.com/Product-Categories/Meat-fish-and-savoury-ingredients/UK-food-industry-comes-together-to-answer-big-questions-in-salt-reduction
3) http://publicanfda.com/Science-Nutrition/Seaweed-granules-may-replace-salt-in-foods
4) http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science/Natural-soy-sauce-could-slash-salt-levels-in-half-for-certain-products-suggests-study
