People who eat more sodium and less potassium may die sooner of heart or other problems than people who consume the opposite, a large, 15-year-study has found.
Sodium remains firmly on the radar of health advocates. In January, the American Heart Association (AHA) issued what it termed a “call to action for the public, health professionals, the food industry and the government to intensify efforts to reduce the amount of sodium (salt) Americans consume daily.”
SALiTeô, developed for S K Patil & Associates Inc., by Sakharam K. Patil, PhD., and Ya-Jane Wang, professor, food science, University of Arkansas, is a low-sodium, micron to sub-micron particle ingredient made from regular salt and a bulking agent.
Food manufacturers continue to reduce sodium content by tactics ranging from stepwise reduction to salt replacers. Consumersí perception of salt plays a crucial role.
Kraft Food Ingredients Corp.'s (KFIC) Pasteurized Cheddar Blend RS is designed to give manufacturers a tool that can adjust sodium in applications to such levels that they can add back salt to achieve desired taste.
In Spain, Fossil's Vaporized Liquid Salt is a spray bottle of low-sodium salt; the manufacturer claims using the product can help reduce sodium consumption by around 90%. Another approach came from PepsiCo in Brazil, where the company launched Cheetos Cream Cheese Flavored Wavy Corn Snack with 25% less sodium.
High levels of sodium in processed foods worldwide have led to sweeping awareness of the dangers of consuming too much sodium. After successful reductions in countries such as China, Finland and the UK, the U.S. is the most recent country with talks of potential government regulation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds
90% of Americans exceed the recommended daily amount of sodium, and to counter
this, numerous companies have announced plans for cutting the sodium levels in
their products.
