Salt Reduction: Challenges and opportunities for the food industry

Salt reduction has been one of the most prevalent topics in the food industry for many years, with a recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health regarding salt intake as one of the major health issues of today’s population. The report, which refers to salt as ‘a deadly poison‘, states that 99.2% of the global population in industrial societies receive too much sodium and that an estimated 1.65 million people die annually from excessive salt intake, which can lead to diseases such as heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure.

For these reasons, food industry professionals need a platform to source solutions in salt reduction – one of the major challenges of the industry today. Health ingredients Europe and Natural ingredients (Hi Europe and Ni) is a hub of innovation and sourcing which will provide solutions to help solve product challenges. The event will take place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands from 2-4 December 2014, and will feature over 500 exhibitors and more than 8,000 visitors from 94 countries. A number of these exhibitors will showcase their innovations and solutions in salt reduction, such as Akzo Nobel, Armor Proteines, Roquette and Beneo.

Salt is added to foods to enhance taste, increase product shelf life and improve texture. While high contents of salt appear in many foods such as finished products, baked goods and seasoning mixes, we are increasingly seeing foods with reduced salt content appearing on supermarket shelves. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a maximum intake of 2 grams of sodium per day, but the current global average is 3.95 grams per day. In order for the salt content in finished foods to be reduced, the food industry has had to develop new and innovative solutions and research the reduction of salt content during processing, while leaving the taste and stability of the salt the same.

Hi Europe 2014 exhibitor Akzo Nobel Functional Chemicals BV, is one of the industry’s companies driving innovation by offering alternative solutions and ingredients, and conducting further research on the topic. They have created a simple solution for the reduction of sodium in food products, as they now supply a mineral salt which contains only 50% sodium, yet still offers the same flavour as common salt. They have developed a technology which combines the salt, potassium chloride and the flavour in a single grain of salt. Matthijs Bults, Business Development Manager at AkzoNobel Salt Specialties, commented: “The pioneering advantage of OneGrain® is that it can be used in place of salt, but it looks, tastes and flows the same, is soluble and can be used like regular salt in cooking.”

Salt reduction is one of the main themes that will be addressed at Hi Europe 2014, by suppliers and through onsite educational opportunities, as numerous companies exhibiting have found ways to reduce salt in products without altering taste, stability or durability. The innovations that will be on offer at the show are cost effective and easy to implement into various reformulations of foods.

To discover more on salt reduction, attend Hi Europe 2014 by registering online at www.hieurope.com. Online registration is free and will save you €110 in onsite fees.