Abstract
Salt is included in many foods which consumers do not regard as salty. This “hidden-salt” may offer functional benefits but is often overlooked in sodium reduction strategies. This study investigated its role in shortbread-like sweet biscuits (1.05 g NaCl/100 g). Sensory tests revealed significant flavour and texture differences after a salt reduction of 33% (0.86 g/ 100 g). This was explained by differences in the partitioning of hydrophobic aroma compounds into the headspace and a significant impact on structure. Texture analysis and X-ray-µCT measurements revealed a reduced hardness with larger and more air cells in salt-reduced biscuits. It is suggested that salt impacts on cereal proteins by altering their aggregation around flour particles and at bubble walls and that slower water loss occurs in salted matrices during baking. Hence, this study revealed the key properties significantly affected by salt reduction and proposes an explanation which will help to develop a targeted “hidden-salt” reduction strategy.
Highlights
While sodium is necessary for normal body functions, it is linked with health problems at high consumption levels
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults consume less than 2 g of sodium (Na, 23 g.mol− 1) daily, which corre sponds to 5 g of salt (WHO, 2020)
It is believed that the lack of effect of sodium chloride on the colour is due to the relatively low sodium chloride concentration and high sucrose concentrations in this class of biscuits
Summary
While sodium is necessary for normal body functions, it is linked with health problems at high consumption levels. A study by Ni Mhurchu et al showed that 77% of the total sodium intake comes from processed foods, either because they contain a high level of salt (such as ready meals, processed meats like sausages, cheese and salty snack food) or because they are consumed frequently in large amounts, such as processed cereal products, bread and biscuits (Ni Mhurchu et al, 2011). A global action program for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases program was developed by the WHO with different voluntary global targets to reduce the rate of cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes (WHO, 2014).
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