Strategies to Reduce Salt Content and Its Effect on Food Characteristics and Acceptance: A Review

Abstract

Sodium is a necessary nutrient for regulating extracellular fluid and transferring molecules around cell membranes with essential functions. However, the prevalence of some diseases is related to unnecessary sodium intake. As a result, a particular problem for the food industry remains a matter of sodium content in foods. It is considered that customer acceptance is associated with salt perception dynamics related to the evolution of food production. It is a significant challenge and technique to minimize the salt content of various foods and provide replacement products with substantial reductions in salt levels. This review summarizes salt reduction strategies related to health problems based on traditional review methodology, with practical and methodological screening performed to determine the appropriate reference sources. Various technological (salt replacement, food reformulation, size and structural modifications, alternative processing, and crossmodal odor interaction) and behavioral strategies (memory process, gradual salt reduction, and swap) are identified in this work, including a deeper understanding of the principles for reducing sodium content in foods and their effect on food characteristics and potential opportunities for the food industry. Thereby, the food industry needs to find the proper combination of each strategy’s advantages and disadvantages to reduce salt consumption while maintaining product quality.

Advancements in nonthermal physical field technologies for prefabricated aquatic food: A comprehensive review

“…Therefore, PEF treatment shows the great potential of preserving fresh aquatic products during cold storage. As lifestyles change and the demand for prefabricated aquatic food increases, low-salt-cured aquatic foods are gaining popularity (Nurmilah et al, 2022). Salt is typically the primary component in cured aquatic foods, as even at low concentrations, it can inhibit bacterial growth and inactivate enzymes through dehydration and osmotic pres-sure.…”

Sodium and Human Health: What Can Be Done to Improve Sodium Balance beyond Food Processing?

“…The strategies that are most frequently used include the reduction in added salt in formulations and the replacement of sodium chloride by alternative salts containing less or no sodium (e.g., KCl, MgCl 2 , CaCl 2 ) or being structurally modified. Moreover, the addition of alternative ingredients such as flavour enhancers, e.g., herbs, spice seasonings and yeast extracts, and textural agents or the use of different processes are also part of the industrial strategies to favour a decrease in the sodium content of processed foods [ 11 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. As described in Table 1 , they can promote concrete solutions for a variety of foods.…”

Dietary salt in liver cirrhosis: With a pinch of salt!

“…Additionally, flavors and sensory experiences can be imparted using herbs, spices and yeast extract. When used as salt alternatives, they have demonstrated good customer acceptance[ 48 ].…”