Scrutinizing sodium: Food formulators target reduced salt alternatives without compromising taste

The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) draft guidance for voluntary sodium reduction targets across 163 food categories is due to be finalized in January 2025. As the industry heads into the new year, companies and brands are getting ahead of the curve to reduce salt content across several key food categories while innovating reduced sodium solutions that do not compromise taste.

According to the FDA, over 70% of total sodium intake is from sodium added during food manufacturing and commercial food preparation (rather than at home), with the average sodium intake in the country being approximately 3,400 milligrams/day (mg/day).

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, advises individuals aged 14 and above to limit their consumption to 2,300 mg/day. Meanwhile, a European Food Safety Panel on Nutrition considers 2 g sodium/day a safe and adequate intake for adults.

The US government’s sodium reduction targets align with a growing consumer base seeking tasty solutions for everyday food items and snacks but who also want healthier choices on the shelves. 

Scrutinizing sodium on the label

This is leading to increased innovation, but in what applications are companies seeing the most demand for sodium reduction?

“In general, manufacturers are looking to meet the demands of a variety of shoppers, therefore all applications are candidates for some level for sodium reduction. We see this specifically in items that are consumed daily and often within each meal or snacking opportunity. These include breads, flatbreads, meat and poultry products, snack foods, sauces and dressings, and beverages. They could all be under more scrutiny at some point,” Courtney Schwartz, marketing director, Kemin Food Technologies, tells Food Ingredients First.

She notes that as consumers are increasingly aware of the health risks associated with consuming too much sodium, they are closely monitoring total consumption throughout their entire diet, as opposed to just considering individual items.

Kemin conducted a Harris Poll to discover what consumers are looking for and their purchasing decisions. 

“We learned that of those reading labels and the ingredient statements of products are basing their purchases off of the health claims — calories, fat, sugar and sodium (50%), rather than looking at the actual words listed in the ingredient statement or if the product has ‘all-natural or free from’ claims.”

“So, the relevance here is showing that all brands — value and premium — have the opportunity for reduced sodium claims.”

Leveraging potassium-based salts

Kemin has a portfolio of sodium-reducing solutions, including BactoCease NV Sodium reduction technology in antimicrobials.

Schwartz explains that many antimicrobials in meat are buffered closer to meat pH levels (above the isoelectric point) to improve processing attributes while ensuring microbial safety and shelf life. Courtney Schwartz, marketing director, Kemin Food Technologies.

However, the buffering process typically can include sodium as a carrier. Utilizing potassium-based salts instead of sodium salts in various antimicrobials allows processors to ensure food quality, safety standards and nutritional guardrails are met. 

“The conventional ingredient statement would typically appear as dry vinegar or buffered vinegar regardless of sodium or potassium salt utilized. Therefore, label declaration wouldn’t change but nutritional sodium levels would be reduced with the low sodium version,” she says.

Kemin also offers a line of functional proteins for use in battered, breaded and fried applications, as well as meat and poultry products. They allow processors to reduce the salt level in their products without impacting yield or quality attributes. 

“The functional proteins undergo a patent process that allows them to increase water holding capacity and thus reduces salts’ importance in meat and poultry product formulations.”

Reformulating food with less salt

Jennifer Zhou, global product marketing, senior director, Flavors, at ADM, says today’s consumers are increasingly gravitating to foods and beverages positioned to support their holistic, well-being and healthy aging goals.

She echoes how health and holistic trends are driving product label scrutiny of certain ingredients, from added sugars to high levels of sodium and fat. 

“Sodium content is starting to make the same impact on shoppers’ purchasing decisions as sugar content, which is a top factor for many consumers (equally tied with having an appealing taste). In the US, 46% of consumers are concerned about their sodium consumption, with 37% stating they have limited or are interested in limiting their intake,” Zhou tells Food Ingredients First.

“Concurrently, 70% of sodium in US consumers’ diets come from packaged and prepared foods. There is a massive opportunity for brands to meet rising demands for sodium reduction in convenient formats like ready meals, supporting consumers’ wellness goals in a fast-paced environment.” 

“Shopper attention to product labels and sodium content is compounded by regulatory guideline changes and restrictions. The FDA’s draft guidance for voluntary sodium reduction targets across 163 food categories is intended to help consumers reduce sodium intake by about 20% over the next three years, further motivating manufacturers to develop new or reformulated foods and beverages with less sodium.”

“We take a comprehensive approach to supporting brands embarking on the path toward developing reduced-sodium products. Our product development starts with consumer and market insights and leverages multiple disciplines of technical expertise to help find the best system of solutions and technologies to address the need for sodium reduction.” 

Consumers still demand a salty taste 

Like Kemin, ADM sees a growing demand for sodium reduction in the savory and salty snacks categories, which Zhou describes as “ripe for innovation.” However, these applications tend to be the most challenging in terms of taste since consumers want saltiness when snacking. 

“Flavor modulation methods can support brands in bridging the gap between the two seemingly contrary consumer demands — salty taste and less sodium. There is also an ongoing focus and opportunity for reducing salt in convenient products like ready meals, soups, dips, marinades, sauces, dressings and condiments.”  

“As alternative protein options and offerings expand, we also see a need and growing demand for reduced sodium content in meat and plant-based or blended meat alternatives that maintain an umami-forward sensory experience,” she says.

ADM’s sodium reduction solutions must focus on maintaining taste, texture and shelf life. However, Zhou points out that the industry does not have a silver bullet. Jennifer Zhou, global product marketing, senior director, Flavors, at ADM.

“ADM leverages our formulation know-how, technical ingenuity and portfolio of natural, proprietary ingredients to balance overall flavor profiles and craft enjoyable tastes of lower sodium products.”

“Advanced flavor technologies and tools such as our TasteSpark Salt Modulation can address challenges from sodium reduction by rebalancing taste loss and supporting overall flavor profiles. Since the flavor modulation solutions are labeled as ‘natural flavor,’ there is potential to have limited to no label change implications for manufacturers.”

“To improve mouthfeel and texture when lowering sodium content, we tap our TasteSpark Mouthfeel, Masking and Umami solutions, helping retain delicious, consumer-preferred tastes and sensory experiences.”

What’s next?

Future food innovation will certainly stay focused on sodium reduction as the potential changes in labeling and tighter regulations come into play. 

However, Zhou believes that the longer-term play is for manufacturers to consider sodium reduction solutions as necessary tools in formulating tomorrow’s innovative foods and beverages that meet emerging consumer trends, taking a proactive instead of reactive mindset for nutrition.

“Similar to how functionality has now become a baseline expectation for consumers, we expect that over time, they will gravitate toward foods and beverages with nutritional panels that reflect appropriate sodium levels per serving. ADM continually investigates and explores the best science-backed solutions nature has to offer to solve formulation challenges around sodium reduction and provide innovative support that meets the needs of our customers.”

Kemin’s Schwartz sees more “values-based” purchasing from consumers. This means that, depending on their changing mindset, they could be looking to purchase items that meet financial needs, good manufacturing or processing goals such as sustainable production and specific dietary requirements.  

“Manufacturers are challenged to provide products that meet these changing needs and have therefore, increased their SKUs or brands to offer solutions to a variety of customers rather than trying to offer one product that satisfies each.” 

“From a sodium reduction standpoint, we believe recent growth in innovation provides a variety of options that food formulators have, which will allow them to meet the ‘all reduction strategy’ as well as the ‘values’ desired without having significant yield or financial implications. It is just about finding the right combination from a variety of suppliers,” she concludes.