Most Americans know they eat too much salt--according to the American Heart Association, the average American consumes 3,436mg of salt a day, rather than the recommended intake of 2,300mg--and, this is linked to a series of health problems, including high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Additionally, 75% of this sodium intake is traditionally from pre-packaged foods, rather than salt added to foods. Despite this strong trend in “salt abuse,” consumers are reluctant to substitute low-sodium offerings that lack flavor. This has been the challenge for food manufacturers, as they work on reduced-sodium formulations.
Natural ingredient supplier Diana Naturals has now launched SAV’UP, a new range of Natural Solutions for Sodium Reduction especially designed for savory applications. SAV’UP enables manufacturers to reduce the sodium content in savory recipes by up to 25%, while also increasing the overall flavor intensity and perception of “roundness” in the finished product. Basically, this solution was designed to address three goals: (1) sodium reduction, (2) flavor enhancement and (3) a clean label declaration.