Six major technologies to solve the "old and difficult" problem of salt reduction

Excessive salt intake has become a health concern for consumers around the world, and China is one of the countries with high salt intake in the world, and consumers' taste buds have long been accustomed to the taste
of salt.
Under the general trend of health, "salt reduction" is imperative, but they are unwilling to "eat tasteless", how to have both? Recently, Zhang Yuyu, professor of the School of Light Industry Science and Technology of Beijing Technology and Business University, made an online report entitled "The Material Basis and Application Effect of Salty Perception of Yeast Extract", which summarized six salt reduction technologies and methods, which brought new ideas
for salt reduction in the food industry.

It's time to catch the "salt reduction" shuttle

Barilla salt first
.
In China's long-standing food culture, salt is an indispensable auxiliary material in food processing, and with the widespread use of salt in food processing, the per capita intake has increased
.

According to the World Health Organization, the daily salt intake should be less than 5 grams for adults and less
for children.
The Scientific Research Report on Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2021) shows that high salt intake is widespread, with an average of 9.
3 grams
of salt per person per day for home cooking.
In other words, China's per capita salt intake is about twice the recommended amount, and it is urgent to reduce salt intake
.

"A high-salt diet has become the third major risk factor
affecting the health of residents.
" Zhang Yuyu pointed out that excessive intake of salt will cause damage to the human gastrointestinal system and urinary system, in addition, it will increase the risk of hypertension and increase the risk
of stroke, gastric cancer and other diseases.

Salt reduction is an imperative measure
related to national health and social development.
The "Healthy China 2030" planning outline and the national nutrition plan (2017-2030) both specify that by 2030, the national per capita daily salt intake will be reduced by 20%; The "Opinions of the State Council on the Implementation of the Healthy China Action" clearly requires reasonable dietary actions, encourages the whole society to participate in salt reduction, oil reduction and sugar reduction, studies and improves salt, oil and sugar packaging standards, and promotes food nutrition and health standards
.

In the post-epidemic era, the global industrial chain layout is changing at an accelerated pace, China, as the world's largest food consumption market, with the gradual transformation of consumption patterns from survival to enjoyment, consumers' demand for all kinds of food has gradually developed from the pure pursuit of taste in the past to diversification, and the demand for healthy food is increasing
day by day.

"The domestic slogan of 'salt reduction' has actually appeared at the policy level for a long time, but it is still difficult to apply to the food industry, and it is not easy to achieve
.
" Zhang Yuyu said that overall, the salt reduction momentum of the condiment market is on fire, but in the snack food and convenience food industries, salt reduction seems to be slower
.

Why is it so difficult to reduce salt? Zhang Yuyu explained that from a technical point of view, in addition to providing saltiness, salt can also increase freshness, salt reduction food on the basis of salt reduction to ensure the coordination of saltiness and umami, to achieve "salt reduction without reducing freshness, salt reduction without reducing taste, salt reduction without saltiness", need to be achieved through certain technical means; Salt also has an antiseptic effect, and after reducing salinity, it also puts forward higher requirements
for anti-corrosion.
From the perspective of eating habits, domestic consumers eat "salt" is a habit that circulates in the diet, and the loss of saltiness of food is like losing "soul"
.
Taking snack food as an example, in the entire snack market, "delicious" occupies a more important position
than "salt reduction".
"There are still many challenges in achieving salt reduction in food, and the technology accumulation and R&D investment behind it should not be underestimated
in order to truly reduce salt.
" Zhang Yuyu said
.

Balance health and deliciousness with technology

The food industry is an important way and carrier
to achieve the goal of salt reduction.
Under the trend of great health, more and more enterprises, universities, research institutes and industry associations focus on salt reduction goals, promote consumption to upgrade to health, and promote salt reduction actions
in the food industry.
Zhang Yuyu elaborated on the six main salt reduction methods, such as non-sodium salt substitution, adding natural extracts or salty peptides, multi-sensory synergy to enhance salty perception, optimize salt crystal structure and food texture, etc.
, and reviewed the mechanism, characteristics and research progress of various methods, in order to provide theoretical guidance
for the development of high-quality low-sodium foods that meet the needs of human health.

"Sodium chloride, the main component of table salt, is an inorganic salt with a salty taste
.
Potassium, calcium and other elements have similar physical and chemical properties due to their proximity to sodium in the periodic table, so they can be applied to the food field by full or partial replacement to solve the problem of
excessive sodium salt.
Zhang Yuyu said that the study found that hydrochloride, lactate, phosphate, etc.
as salt substitutes have good application value, at present, in salt reduction products at home and abroad, potassium chloride is mainly used to replace sodium salt
.

About 95% of the sodium salts in the food matrix do not contribute to the saltiness perception before being swallowed, so the relationship between matrix properties, sodium ion release rate and salty taste perception can be used, such as changing the crystal structure and spatial distribution of salt, and increasing the contact area between salt and taste buds in the food matrix, and increasing the release rate of sodium ions in the mouth to enhance salty perception
.
"The network structure formed by food macromolecules has an important impact on the release, diffusion and perception of dry sodium ions, and the structural design of food colloids can enhance salty perception
.
" Zhang Yuyu said
.

Salt reduction with natural extracts is also one of
the ways to reduce salt.
Natural extracts include ingredients in spices such as Zanthoxylacan, allicin, capsaicin and yeast extract
.
Zhang Yuyu introduced that pepper flavor is stimulated by unsaturated amides in peppercorns, which plays an important role
in enhancing appetite and regulating energy metabolism.
Experiments show that the aqueous solution of Zanthoxylum oleoresin alcohol with low hemp degree can significantly enhance the saltiness perception of young and elderly people, and the saltiness is affected by the age, individual sensitivity, eating habits and psychological characteristics of the participants
.
Yeast extract is rich in a variety of substances that enhance saltiness perception, as a safe, healthy and nutritious natural seasoning base, in the case of reducing the amount of salt, can make the saltiness perception of food be strengthened, play an important role in improving seasoning, improving nutritional value and quality, etc.
, and the application in the field of food salt reduction is expanding
.
"First of all, the bitterness and metallic taste of potassium and magnesium salts can be improved
by yeast extract.
Secondly, yeast extract can improve the overall flavor intensity of food and achieve the purpose of
salt reduction.
Zhang Yuyu said that adding yeast extract to food and condiments can reduce the amount
of salt by about 20%.

In the field of high-salt pickled products, salt reduction through processing can significantly reduce the amount of salt used
.
For example, the use of ultra-high pressure, irradiation, microwave, pulsed electric field and ultrasonic and other non-thermal processing technologies, can increase the penetration rate of sodium ions, so as to achieve the purpose of
salt reduction.

"The use of peptides composed of amino acids that have or no salty properties but can promote the release of salty taste and enhance salty taste perception is also one of
the means that can be applied.
" Zhang Yuyu introduced, for example, salty enhancement peptides themselves do not have a salty taste, but can enhance saltiness when used with sodium chloride; γ-glutamyl peptides have distinct flavor-enhancing properties, and evidence suggests that their small addition confers a higher savory and umami taste to food
.

Multisensory synergy can also enhance saltiness perception
.
Zhang Yuyu introduced that first, through the synergistic effect between taste substances, such as sour taste and salty taste at low concentrations; The second is to enhance taste perception through aroma induction, substances with salty characteristics can significantly enhance the salty perception intensity of sodium chloride solution, and when the aroma characteristics are consistent with the taste characteristics, the olfactory perception can enhance the taste perception intensity
to a certain extent.

(Gao Jiaodi)

China Food News (December 27, 2022, version 06).

(Responsible editor: Gao Jiaodi)