Key Interview: “Sodium Reduction is Our Brand,” Says AkzoNobel

06 June 2017 --- In today’s food industry healthier products are in increasing demand and sodium reduction regulations are becoming even stricter to ensure that guidelines and salt recommendations are being met. Salt experts at AkzoNobel have developed OneGrain − a unique mineral salt with less sodium and great taste, all in one grain.

They believe this is the solution to benefit from health trends and comply with new standards while retaining taste-based consumer preference. OneGrain is a solution that brings different ingredients together in a new grain of salt containing the optimal balance of sodium salt, potassium salt and natural flavor. According to Tom van Zeeburg, Business Development Manager OneGrain, “you can achieve sodium targets by replacing just as much salt as needed.” 

FoodIngredientsFirst spoke with van Zeeburg about sodium reduction around the globe: “We are conscious that sodium awareness is increasing, not just in Europe but around the world too. Governments are frequently sending out information to consumers to educate them about being aware of sodium levels in food products and encouraging them to make conscious choices. From a governmental level – pressure is building up and initiatives are growing to force the industry gently into taking out salt and come up with healthier alternatives.”

“In every continent there is pressure for sodium reduction,” he explains. “In Europe, South America and Asia there is a growing awareness for sodium reduction but if you look at it from a food multinational perspective, these companies have their own policy on where they want to go. They have programs for the next five years to reduce salt in food products and they are quite ambitious.” Van Zeeburg adds: “Sometimes even more ambitious than the governmental programs, so we really see that the awareness on a global scale is there, especially from food producers.”

“The US is very much aware of the dangers of sodium but then so is Europe. When you look to the guidelines that the UK has, including the effective traffic light system that they are working with, the red, amber and green, in this case for salt - this creates great awareness for consumers. If this system was adopted wider than the UK it could help create further awareness and make it easier to understand choosing between healthier alternatives,” he notes. 

“Sodium reduction awareness is certainly growing - we are very successful on a global scale we have sales in all continents and we are able to offer an easy solution - sodium reduction the easy way is our brand.”

“The reduction of sodium for many companies is a complex issue,” continues van Zeeburg, “Primarily because there are so many issues involved on taste and functionality.” 

“We have also managed to create a solution with our important partners, like Givaudan,” he says. “The products that we have containing their solutions are so successful in the market because we have found the right combination between taste and functionality which really proves the value for the industry – it’s a very promising achievement that we have seen over the past few years.” 

AkzoNobel has developed a portfolio of tailored solutions for their customers. Van Zeeburg stresses: “These solutions are much more cost efficient in terms of growth and volume so we are able to make it cheaper. We translate the benefits to the customers and remain a very clean label solution which is very cost effective when there is a real need to reduce sodium,” he explains. 
 
“Cost is high on the agenda when it comes to sodium reduction, and we see more and more customers switch from the “cost in use” focus to focus on the “total cost of ownership”,” says van Zeeburg. “Any ingredient acting as an alternative to salt will likely be more expensive ingredient, but when you look at a whole recipe perspective you can become even more efficient in the processing, and then you can also reduce costs further down the line. For the cost neutral solution, development is key and we can offer that to our customers,” he adds. 

Typically, the food applications that salt is used for are the applications where the complexity is highest when sodium reduction is requested. Typically these are bakery applications, meat applications and ready meals, so that is where AkzoNobel are looking to target. Van Zeeburg says: “We sell our ingredients on every continent so we have grown rapidly over the last few years. As far as sodium reduction goes, this proves this solution is respected in all types of continents and in all types of applications so that is very rewarding for us to see at AkzoNobel.”

Regarding sodium reduction AkzoNobel have enlarged their portfolio with more alternatives and more choices for the customer. Van Zeeburg comments: “We are tailoring and working closely together with the bigger food multinationals to tailor the solutions that we can offer to them and their specific needs. We can include a specific flavor or nutritionals such as vitamins, iron or whatever they want to be added as an ingredient. This makes it possible to make unique ingredients with more than one functionality,” he states. “Innovation, for us, is really in tailoring the product to the needs of the producers.”

How important is sustainability to AkzoNobel? Van Zeeburg replies: “We have been rated the No. 1 in a Dow Jones Sustainability index, for the past five years. So as a company we are very much aware of making steps towards sustainability. It’s our ambition to be to be carbon neutral and use 100% renewable energy by 2050 and we pride ourselves on being one of the leading companies when it comes to sustainability; for our own process but also to help our customers become more sustainable on the targets that they have, wherever we can,” he finalizes. 
 
New AkzoNobel facility in Spain will be opened in June; further details will be announced next month. 

Last week, FoodIngredientsFirst reported that PPG had withdrawn its $27.6 billion takeover pursuit of AkzoNobel. The company said it will not pursue a public offer for all the issued and outstanding shares of AkzoNobel. PPG said it had made the final decision after careful consideration, including the stakeholder interests of both companies. This ends an unusually bitter trans-Atlantic standoff between two of the world's oldest industrial companies. You can read the full story here. 

by Elizabeth Green