Formulation of Healthier Products – As a Source of Salt Replacers

Food Ingredient development has greater potential due to the ongoing global need for foods that support health and wellbeing. An increased risk of blood pressure, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and chronic renal disease have all been linked to high dietary salt intake. Untreated hypertension is the most significant risk factor for cardiovascular, stroke, and renal disorders, and it can cause kidney damage, dementia, or blindness 

Over the past few years, several Salt substitutes have been suggested in order to formulate healthy food products. For instance, salt reducers (blends of NaCl with other salts), salt substitutes, and metallic salts (KCl, potassium lactate) (KCl with lysine). Herbs, spices, and yeast extracts are also suggested for low-sodium diets as flavour enhancers. The compounds in garlic (allicin), ginger (gingerol), pepper (capsaicin), and black pepper (piperine, isopiperine, isoclavicine, peperamine, and peperolein A and B), among others, activate the vanilloid receptor (RVPT1) even though they do not stimulate the gustatory salt receptors (through Na+ channel depolarization). As an outcome, they may be able to mask the absence or reduction of sodium salt 

Seaweed 

Seaweeds are algae grown in the sea with a formidable source of nutrients and bio compounds like polysaccharides, omega-3 fatty acids, Protein, carotenoids, polyphenolic compounds, vitamins and minerals. These phytonutrients have been reported for their several health benefits, such as antioxidants, antihyperlipidemic, antihypertensive and anticancer properties. Seaweeds range in color from red to green to brown to black. They grow along rocky shorelines and are abundant in Asian countries, including Japan and China. Seaweeds have now become a vital resource used in varied sectors such as food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics 33 genera of seaweed are cultivated for commercial purposes. Using technical instruments such as seaweed printing tables and seaweed harvesters, seaweeds can be cultivated profitably. Moreover, seaweeds emerge as a viable source of fresh water due to their natural desalination process, and this feature makes it possible to use them in drought-affected areas. 

Small-scale manufacturers are exploring cost-effective cultivation areas for commercial farming due to their functional properties and initiatives developed to promote the use of seaweeds as new ingredients for food applications. Using filter feeders, seawater pollution is curbed, and some organizations have invested in long vertical floating ropes, termed 3D farming, where seaweeds are cultivated along with Shellfish. It is a regenerative process with minor investments in fertilizers. Wind farms are used as a location for seaweed farming. With no ship movements, this proves beneficial as a base for seaweed plantations. Some have gone to the extent of integrating floating solar panels, shellfish cultivation, wind farms and seaweed farming! 

Other Commercial benefits of seaweed 

• Seaweed as Biofuel 

Ethanol extracted from seaweed can be mixed with natural gas components and used as biofuel. The benefits of using seaweed for biofuels include fast production and non-dependency on freshwater.  

• Seaweed as a source of Protein  

Manufacturers in the food industry show interest in utilizing seaweeds as protein sources. Using the benefits of naturally occurring sunlight and salt, seaweed can be easily cultivated. 

• Seaweed in packaging industries 

Seaweed is naturally high in fibre and vitamins and can be used in packaging without chemicals. As it is biodegradable, it will break down without any damaging consequences.  

• Seaweed as cow feed 

In the animal feed market, seaweed is recommended as cow feed, which is believed to reduce methane emissions from cows. 

• Seaweed as alternative green fuel 

Large brown algae seaweeds called kelp helps in absorbing carbon dioxide in the ocean and elevate the oxygen supply of the surrounding areas, thus maintaining optimum pH level. Kelp as a fuel source decreases the level of greenhouse gases and reduces dependency on fossil fuels. Unlike the alternative greener fuels, sugar and corn, seaweeds are cost-effective. Thus, Commercial seaweed farming is a positive stride that helps face the energy crisis in the future. 

Seaweed as a salt substitute 

Seaweed has been used as a salt substitute and therefore has been used for the formulation of new sodium-reduced meat products. Seaweeds have minerals like Na, Ca, Mg, Mn, P, K, I, Fe and Zn. This high mineral content offers an enormous opportunity of using seaweeds as salt replacers in processed meat. This, in turn, would help reduce the consumption of Na while refining the intake of other minerals. Seaweeds also have a low Na/K ratio, a convenient feature for preventing hypertension and cardiovascular disease risks. Given these opportunities, the meat sector has formulated low-salt meat products with additional promising health benefits.   

A 2017 study published in Meat Science found that the substitution of AlgySalt® in fresh and cooked sausages showed significantly higher colour, texture and juiciness punctuation; however, cooked sausages containing the salt mixture had better sensory acceptance. Another study published in the Korean Journal of Food Science Animal Resources in 2015 showed that frankfurters were substituted by the addition of four species of edible seaweeds (sea tangle, sea mustard, hijiki and glasswort) and found that sea tangle and sea mustard presented better results in terms of cooking loss, emulsion stability and sensory properties (color, flavour, juiciness, tenderness) than in comparison with average salt content. Similarly, in the same journal (2015), sea mustard was substituted for a low NaCl meat emulsion system.  

The findings showed that the textural parameters like hardness, springiness, and cohesiveness were unchanged when the emulsion-based meat product was applied to sea mustard. Another study in 2016, published in the Journal of Food Science and Technology, showed the assessed effectiveness of the inclusion of a water-soluble extract from Palmaria Palmate as a salt replacer in the elaboration of cooked ham. The findings showed that the sensorial acceptance of the cooked ham with seaweeds was comparable to control with the usual salt content, even after 6 months of refrigerated storage period.

Further, another study published in the Journal of Food Science (2016) showed that including Wakame in black puddings with reduced salt content provided products with lower cooking loss and an appearance and colour similar to the control. The findings showed that reformulated products with 0.6% NaCl and seaweeds had higher spiciness and saltiness scores than the black puddings control. Studies also showed that incorporating algae such as Porphyra umbilicalis, Palmaria palmate, Himanthalia elongate, Eucheuma Spionsum, and Undaria pinnatifida seems a promising alternative in formulating healthier food products with functional attributes. 

Conclusion   

In the present Growing market of food ingredients development, reduced-salt food products are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.1% from 2022 to 2030, Food Research Lab helps you in the development of low sodium and salt substitute for cooking for a healthier lifestyle by carrying out a through ingredient analysis. 

References 

1. ¹Gullón, P., Astray, G., Gullón, B., Franco, D., Campagnol, P. C. B., & Lorenzo, J. M. (2020). Inclusion of seaweeds as healthy approach to formulate new low-salt meat products. Current Opinion in Food Science. doi:10.1016/j.cofs.2020.05.005  

2. Parniakov O, Toepfl S, Barba FJ, Granato D, Zamuz S, Galvez F, Lorenzo JM: Impact of the soy protein replacement by legumes and algae based proteins on the quality of chicken rotti. J Food Sci Technol 2018, 55 

3. Choi YS, Kum JS, Jeon KH, Park JD, Choi HW, Hwang KE, Jeong TJ, Kim YB, Kim CJ: Effects of Edible Seaweed on Physicochemical and Sensory Characteristics of Reduced-salt Frankfurters. Korean J Food Sci Anim Resour 2015, 35:748–756. 39.  

4. Kim CJ, Hwang KE, Song DH, Jeong TJ, Kim HW, Kim YB, Jeon KH, Choi YS: Optimization for reduced-fat / low-NaCl meat emulsion systems with sea mustard (Undaria pinnatifida) and phosphate. Korean J Food Sci Anim Resour 2015, 35:515– 523. 40.  

5. Barbieri G, Barbieri G, Bergamaschi M, Francheschini M, Berizi E: Reduction of NaCl in cooked ham by modification of the cooking process and addition of seaweed extract (Palmaria palmata). LWT – Food Sci Technol 2016, 73:700–706. 

6. Fellendorf S, O’Sullivan MG, Kerry JP: Impact of ingredient replacers on the physicochemical properties and sensory quality of reduced salt and fat black puddings. Meat Sci 2016, 113:17–25. 42.  

7. He D, Wang X, Ai M, Kong Y, Fu L, Zheng B, Song H, Huang Q: Molecular mechanism of high-pressure processing for improving the quality of low-salt Eucheuma spinosum chicken breast batters. Poult Sci 2019, 98:2670–2678.