Adding soy sauce to certain foods may enhance perception of saltiness and enable food manufacturers to cut salt content without affecting taste, according to new research from Japan.

Soy sauce was capable of reducing the salt content of salad dressings, soup, and stir-fried pork by 50, 17, and 29 per cent, respectively, without affecting the overall taste intensity or product pleasantness, according to results published in the Journal of Food Science.

Salt is of course a vital nutrient and is necessary for the body to function, and the World Health Organization recommends that per capita daily salt consumption should not exceed five grams. However, with the average daily salt (NaCl) consumption in the western world estimated to be between 10 and 12 grams, consumers and some governments have imposed pressure on food manufacturers to reduce the salt content in their formulations - 60 to 80 per cent of salt consumption comes from packaged foods rather than salt added at the table.

The new research, led by Stefanie Kremer from Wageningen University’s Centre for Innovative Consumer Studies, suggests “that it is possible to replace NaCl in foods with naturally brewed soy sauce without lowering the overall taste intensity and to reduce the total NaCl content in these foods without decreasing their consumer acceptance”.

The study, which involved scientists from Kikkoman Europe, proposed that soy sauce may work by enhancing the perception of saltiness, the so-called odour-induced saltiness enhancement (OISE).

“[However,] it might be expected that the association between soy sauce odour and saltiness in a population of almost completely nonusers of soy sauce might not be very strong. In that case it will take probably more than 1 or 2 sessions to establish an association between soy sauce odour and saltiness,” wrote Kremer and her co-workers.

Study details

The Wageningen and Kikkoman researchers formulated salad dressing, soup, and stir-fried pork with increasing levels of soy sauce and decreasing levels of salt. Consumers were then recruited to test five samples of each product and rate the pleasantness and other sensory attributes.

“The results showed that it was possible to achieve a NaCl reduction in the tested foods of, respectively, 50 per cent, 17 per cent, and 29 per cent without leading to significant losses in either overall taste intensity or product pleasantness,” wrote the researchers.

“These results suggest that it is possible to replace NaCl in foods with naturally brewed soy sauce without lowering the overall taste intensity and to reduce the total NaCl content in these foods without decreasing their consumer acceptance,” they concluded.

Increased intakes of whole grains, and bran in particular, may reduce the incidence of hypertension in men, according to new findings from Harvard.

Data from over 30,000 men participating in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study indicated that increased intakes of whole grains are associated with a 19 per cent lower incidence of hypertension.

The researchers, led by Alan Flint from Harvard School of Public Health, report their findings online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

“These findings have implications for future dietary guidelines and prevention of hypertension,” they wrote.

High blood pressure (hypertension),defined as having a systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) greater than 140 and 90 mmHg, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) - a disease that causes almost 50 per cent of deaths in Europe, and reported to cost the EU economy an estimated €169bn ($202bn) per year.

While the potential heart health benefits of whole grains have been reported before, the Harvard researchers note that no studies have reported if the total grams of whole grains are linked to the risk of hypertension.

The 31,684 male health professionals aged between 40 and 75 without known hypertension, cancer, stroke, or heart disease were followed for 18 years. During this time, 9,227 cases of incident hypertension were documented.

Comparing the highest intakes of whole grains to the lowest intakes, the researchers calculated that whole grains were associated with a 19 per cent reduction in the incidence of hypertension.

When they subsequently looked at total bran, a 15 per cent reduction in the incidence of hypertension was observed for men with the highest intakes, compared to the lowest.

“In summary, we found an independent inverse association between intake of whole grains and incident hypertension in men,” wrote the researchers. “Bran may play an important role in this association,” they concluded.

The trend towards low-cost food packaging over the past two years, driven by global recession and volatile energy prices, is the main finding of a new study conducted by UK-based analysts Canadean.

Its latest report, Innovation in Liquid Food Packaging, 2009, charts the latest developments in ambient liquid food packaging design since 2007. It reviews the global market from the perspective of retailing, food processing and packaging and assesses the growing impact of private labels.

“The report reveals the general shift towards more cost driven factors influencing the food packaging sector,” Dominic Cakebread, the company’s director of packaging services told FoodProductionDaily.com. “It also shows how the brakes are being put on added-value products, the increasing pressure on (packaging) technology and greater competition.”

Budget-restricted consumers

According to the study, many brand owners throughout the world have been forced to re-structure their product ranges and develop new categories, products and packaging designs aimed at more budget-conscious consumers.

The pressure has been most intense in the ambient liquid food sector. Lower consumer spending, particularly in North America and Europe, has accelerated the growth in discount stores prompting large retail food chains to extend their private label brands to meet consumer demand for better value, compete more effectively and retain market share.

“Private label brands are the way supermarkets have chosen to respond to commercial pressure from discounters and consumers’ demands for better value,” said Cakebread. “Companies have strived to reduce the weight of their packaging and their carbon foot-print. In fact, green packaging and the need for cost reduction usually go together.”

So, food packagers have looked for new packaging types and designs which offer simplicity, cost-reduction and materials savings but without sacrificing the benefits of convenience and green credibility.

Flexible plastics

The report also identifies a continuing trend towards plastics, particularly flexible plastics and pouches, driven by the need to cut costs and materials and a need for greater versatility in sizes, shapes and designs.

The authors note a wider range of packaging choice for tomato products including aseptic cartons, tubes, flexible bags and bag-in-box plus the greater use of shallow plastic pots and aluminum trays for ready meals

There has also been growth in the use of liquid carton usage for condensed and evaporated milks

This latest report from Canadean is intended to complement its study ‘Innovation in Beverage Packaging’ study published last October.