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Consumers’ love affair with processed food, combined with a rising awareness of the damage that high levels of salt can do to health, will make food and drink with reduced salt formulations a massive opportunity for manufacturers globally in the near future, finds Business Insights.

Among consumers, sodium has earned a bad, although somewhat undeserved, reputation. In fact, sodium is a crucial mineral in a multitude of metabolic processes.

While new and unique bakery products are always popping up, old classics, like cupcakes and pies, are still trendy. However, the new twist for manufacturers is to provide even healthier baked goods, with more fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts, as well as less fat, sugar, calories and sodium.

Food choices are primarily neurological responses activating pleasure centers of the brain. As product developers seek to create “cravable” new products, including those with improved nutritional profiles, such as lower-fat and -sodium, one must understand the eating experience.

Lowering salt intake has long been advised by healthcare providers for the reduction of blood pressure, especially for those who suffer hypertension.

Danisco has taken natural food protection one step further, by converting its entire MicroGARD® and NovaGARD® ingredient lines to “gluten-free,” in response to growing consumer demand.

The USDA’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans urges the U.S. population to reduce sodium consumption. However, concerns over sodium and its relation to hypertension can be found in Latin America, as well.

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.”