School of Food Science, Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA, 99164, USA.
J Food Sci. 2019 Feb;84(2):327-338. doi: 10.1111/1750-3841.14440. Epub 2019 Jan 9.
Replacement of NaCl with other salts is becoming increasingly common as part of a salt reduction strategy, but these salts may confer unwanted sensory changes. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the relationship between consumer perception and electronic tongue detection of different salts and their mixtures currently used in salt reduction. NaCl and replacement salts (KCl and CaCl ) were identified, and using mixture design methodology, mixtures (n = 10) were prepared in aqueous solutions and validated in tomato soup. A potentiometric electronic tongue, panelists with orientation (n = 30), and a consumer panel (n = 94 - solutions; n = 100 - soups) were used to evaluate the samples. Significant differences were found between salt mixtures in solutions and soups by both panelists and consumers (P < 0.05). Electronic tongue analysis showed a high discrimination index (D.I. = 96%) indicating distinct differences among the salt mixtures, and strong positive correlations (R > 0.90) were found between sensory and electronic tongue data. Upon application of contour plots and desirability function analysis, an optimal replacement value was identified as one containing 96.4% NaCl, 1.6% KCl, and 2.0% CaCl . Additional salt blends could be created to continue to reduce NaCl and increase the other two salts, for further potential health benefits, without significantly impacting predicted acceptance scores. Results from this study indicate the potential for the electronic tongue, sensory evaluation, and mixture design methodology to work together during product reformulations to achieve salt reduction targets. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The results show that salt mixtures vary in perception and acceptance in different matrices, and thus should be evaluated on a product by product basis. With its ability to discriminate among various salts, the application of the electronic tongue could be useful for industry in the development of products with different salt formulations to reduce NaCl within processed foods. Additionally, mixture design can help find a predicted optimum mixture for the product under investigation.
用其他盐替代 NaCl 作为减盐策略的一部分变得越来越普遍，但这些盐可能会带来不必要的感官变化。因此，本研究的目的是确定消费者感知与电子舌检测不同盐及其混合物之间的关系，这些盐及其混合物目前用于减盐。鉴定了 NaCl 和替代盐（KCl 和 CaCl2），并使用混合设计方法，在水溶液中制备混合物（n=10）并在番茄汤中进行验证。使用电位型电子舌、有方向的品尝小组（n=30）和消费者小组（溶液 n=94-；汤 n=100-）评估样品。品尝小组成员和消费者在溶液和汤中均发现盐混合物之间存在显著差异（P<0.05）。电子舌分析显示，盐混合物之间存在很高的区分指数（D.I. = 96%），表明存在明显差异，并且在感官和电子舌数据之间发现了强烈的正相关（R>0.90）。应用等高线图和理想函数分析，确定了一个最佳替代值，即含有 96.4%NaCl、1.6%KCl 和 2.0%CaCl2 的混合物。可以创建其他盐混合物来进一步降低 NaCl 并增加另外两种盐，以获得进一步的潜在健康益处，而不会显著影响预测的接受分数。本研究的结果表明，电子舌、感官评价和混合设计方法在产品配方改革过程中具有协同作用，以实现减盐目标。实际应用：结果表明，盐混合物在不同基质中的感知和接受度存在差异，因此应根据产品逐个进行评估。电子舌具有区分各种盐的能力，因此在开发具有不同盐配方的产品以减少加工食品中的 NaCl 方面，它可能对工业界有用。此外，混合设计可以帮助找到研究产品的预测最佳混合物。
