Researchers have found a way to make food salty, but with less sodium chloride linked to poor health. The researchers looked at salt mixtures that contain less sodium chloride and other salts such as calcium chloride and potassium chloride.
Both salts have no negative effects on people's health, the researcher said. Potassium can help reduce blood pressure. Unfortunately they are not very tasty. “Potassium chloride in particular tastes really bitter and people really don't like it.”
The researchers used test panels and an electronic tongue to see how much of the substitute salts for standard sodium chloride they could add before people found the food unacceptable to eat. Some test panels tested different saline solutions or salt in water, while others tested different salt combinations in tomato soup.
Using the e-tongue and panels, they found that a mixture containing about 96.4 percent sodium chloride with 1.6 percent potassium chloride and 2 percent calcium chloride was the ideal reduction. They had a higher reduction when they added calcium chloride alone and got acceptable rates with a combination of 78 percent sodium chloride and 22 percent calcium chloride.
"This combination of the two salts was not significantly different compared to 100 percent sodium chloride," said the researcher. “But when we added potassium chloride, consumer acceptance dropped.”
Recent findings have suggested that gradual salt reductions over a period of years are the best way to reduce salt consumption. Using one of the new blends for a given time frame can lead to greater reductions down the road.
