Liking, salt taste perception and use of table salt when consuming reduced-salt chicken stews in light of South Africa's new salt regulations

Abstract

Pretoria South Africa 0002 riette.dekock@up.ac.za +27 12 420 3238 Highlights New consumer-focused behaviour insights for salt reduction of meals. Unexpected similarities in liking for chicken meals with varying levels of salt. A gradual reduction of salt in chicken stews resulted in a reduced salt intake. 19% consumers added salt back to reduced-salt meals, up to full compensation. AbstractThis study investigated the impact of salt reduction on liking, salt taste perception, and use of table salt when consuming chicken stew in light of South Africa"s new salt recommendations. In total, 432 South-African consumers (aged 35.2 ± 12.3 years) consumed a full portion of a chicken stew meal once at a central location. Four stock cube powders varying in salt content were used to prepare chicken stews: 1) no reduction -2013 Na level; regular salt level as currently available on the South African market (24473 mg Na/100g), 2) salt reduction smaller than 2016 level, i.e. 10%-reduced (22025 mg Na/100g), 3) 2016 salt level, as per regulatory prescriptions (18000 mg Na/100g), 4) 2019 salt level, as per regulatory prescriptions (13000 mg Na/100g). Consumers were randomly allocated to consume one of the four meals.Liking, salt taste perception, and use of table salt and pepper were measured. 1Chicken stews prepared with reduced-salt stock powders were equally well-liked as chicken stews with the current salt level. Moreover, a gradual reduction of the salt in the chicken stews resulted in a reduced salt intake, up to an average of 19% for the total group compared to the benchmark 2013 Na level stew. However, 19% of consumers compensated by adding salt back to full compensation in some cases.More salt was added with increased reductions of salt in the meals, even to the point of full compensation. Further investigation into the impacts of nutrition communication and education about salt reduction on salt taste perception and use is needed. This research provides new consumer insights on salt use and emphasises the need for consumer-focused behaviour change approaches, in addition to reformulation of products.

Salt Use Behaviours of Ghanaians and South Africans: A Comparative Study of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices

“…The contribution of discretionary salt intake to total salt intake cannot be under-emphasized even in societies where most salt comes from processed foods. Health promotion activities are needed to decrease individual level salt intake [ 7 ] in order to decrease salt preferences over time and thus decrease discretionary salt use [ 7 , 36 , 58 ].…”

Applying a Consumer Behavior Lens to Salt Reduction Initiatives

“…If such a scenario is ever to be realized, consumer demand for a low-salt food value chain is necessary—product supply needs to align with consumer demand. For example, there is evidence to suggest that reducing salt in commercial food could simply lead to consumers adopting compensatory behavior and adding it back in through discretionary salt use at preparation and consumption [ 22 ]. In contrast, if efforts are made to encourage the consumer to seek a low-salt ‘way of life’, this would lead to more successful reformulation efforts: previous research has found that consumers who are motivated to reduce their own dietary salt intake are then more accepting of actual reductions in the salt content of food products [ 15 ].…”

Salt intake in South Africa: a current perspective

“…24 It is thought that individuals may even compensate for a sodium reduction in processed food by increasing discretionary salt. 35,36 Cultural and spiritual beliefs and practices that encourage salt use are another concern in South Africa. Although little research is available on this subject, salt is used liberally to preserve meat, particularly by roadside vendors when onsite cooling facilities are not available.…”