Current daily consumption of salt in the Western world is still well above the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation of 5 grams per day. Finding ways to reduce the quantity of added salt in finished food products is therefore a priority for manufacturers.

Potassium chloride is often used to reduce sodium in food products but UK-based Norgrow said the ingredient has an off flavour that can be expensive to hide.

Formulation goals

What the company therefore sought to create is a better tasting sodium reduction ingredient that holds on to the benefits of standard salt such as preservation and low cost.

Norgrow claims to have “met these needs in several ways” with its new Powersalt product.

Product benefits

Powersalt makes a reduction in added salt of up to 50 per cent possible, which Norgrow said puts healthy options well within the grasp of the majority of manufacturers.

Norgrow said Powersalt will therefore help manufacturers in the UK meet the 2010 salt targets set by the FSA.

In other countries, Norgrow said the ingredient will also help food companies deliver on promises to cut salt content and tackle heart health problems associated with high sodium intake.

With regards to taste, the company claims that in contrast to potassium chloride, Powersalt retains salt and flavours on the tastebuds for longer thereby enhancing the strength and longevity of flavours.

For manufacturers currently using high cost flavour and seasoning blends with commodity salt, Norgrow claims that Powersalt can offer significant savings.

The new ingredient is also clean label so there is no need for any label changes.