Unilever R&D Vlaardingen, Unilever Food and Health Research Institute, Vlaardingen, Netherlands.
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2009 Nov;49(10):841-51. doi: 10.1080/10408390903044297.
The global high prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease has raised concerns regarding the sodium content of the foods which we consume. Over 75% of sodium intake in industrialized diets is likely to come from processed and restaurant foods. Therefore international authorities, such as the World Health Organisation, are encouraging the food industry to reduce sodium levels in their products. Significant sodium reduction is not without complications as salt plays an important role in taste, and in some products is needed also for preservation and processing. The most promising sodium reduction strategy is to adapt the preference of consumers for saltiness by reducing sodium in products in small steps. However, this is a time-consuming approach that needs to be applied industry-wide in order to be effective. Therefore the food industry is also investigating solutions that will maintain the same perceived salt intensity at lower sodium levels. Each of these has specific advantages, disadvantages, and time lines for implementation. Currently applied approaches are resulting in sodium reduction between 20-30%. Further reduction will require new technologies. Research into the physiology of taste perception and salt receptors is an emerging area of science that is needed in order to achieve larger sodium reductions.
全球范围内高血压和心血管疾病的高发率引起了人们对所食用食物中钠含量的关注。在工业化饮食中，超过 75%的钠摄入量可能来自加工食品和餐馆食品。因此，世界卫生组织等国际权威机构鼓励食品行业降低其产品中的钠含量。大量减少钠含量并非没有并发症，因为盐在味道中起着重要作用，而且在某些产品中还需要用于保存和加工。最有前途的减少钠含量的策略是通过逐步减少产品中的钠含量来适应消费者对咸味的偏好。然而，这是一个耗时的方法，需要在整个行业中应用才能有效。因此，食品行业也在研究在较低钠含量下保持相同感知盐强度的解决方案。这些方法各有优缺点，实施时间也不同。目前应用的方法可将钠含量降低 20-30%。进一步的减少将需要新技术。对味觉感知和盐受体生理学的研究是一个新兴的科学领域，需要实现更大程度的钠减少。
