REDUCED SODIUM BAKERY PRODUCTS: CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if baked products could be prepared with no added salt and be acceptable to college students. Students selecting the baked products were asked to rate the item for acceptability on a 9 point hedonic scale. Eight baked products were prepared using recipes from the Armed Forces Recipe Service file. A control batch with added salt and a test batch with no added salt were prepared in the University bake shop. Other ingredients which contained sodium were left unchanged. Sensory ratings for six of the baked products did not differ significantly between the test and control for acceptability. Two control items, both yeast products, were rated significantly more acceptable than the test items, although the test items did receive acceptable ratings. Two test products were rated as more acceptable than the control items. Chemical analysis for sodium and chloride levels indicated a reduction of 2 to 26% for sodium and 7 to 92% for chloride. These results indicate that moderate reduction of sodium can be achieved by omitting the added salt in dessert, cake and cookie products.