A review - effect of salt on the sensory perception of snacks

Abstract

Consumers have growing concerns regarding healthy eating habits, which can lead to healthier food choices in both choosing meals and snacking. With the growing understanding of healthy foods, changing the motivation of food preferences towards healthier, producers are obligated to transform their products with a balanced nutrition value. One of greatest worries is the salt intake as it is connected to increasing risk of cardiovascular diseases. The challenge for producers is to decrease the amount of salt while at the same time maintain the good taste of snacks or any other products, in order to make sure that consumer liking remains at the same level. The objective of the review was to analyse scientific literature, describe the possibilities of salt reduction of potato, corn or vegetable snacks and to understand how it could impact sensory characteristics of the snacks. The review outlines the current situation of progress that has been made in salt reduction and indicates the main priorities and problems in the salty snacks sector. Salt as well as spices makes a great impact on sensory profile because they determine the taste of product, which is directly linked to overall level of liking. Researchers have found that it is possible to substitute salt with different salt replacers (KCl, MgCl2 and others) in combination with flavour enhancers. Salt reduction or replacing does not always directly affect consumer perception of products.