Food Business News Highlights Innophos Solutions for Sodium Reduction
In January 2024, Food Business News published an article which featured Innophos solutions that help organizations reach their sodium reduction goals.
- Read full article: Cutting the salt from school meals
- Learn more: Reducing Sodium in Meat and Bakery
The US Food and Drug Administration has provided food manufacturers with guidance for sodium reduction. While the guidance is voluntary, taking action is considered necessary by some companies. Currently, on average, Americans 14 years and older consume 50% more than the recommended limit for sodium. When it comes to children aged 2 to 13 years, more than 95% exceed the recommended limits of sodium for their age groups. It is a trend that could have an impact on health outcomes later.
“School nutrition professionals are focused on reducing sodium in school breakfast and lunch programs to comply with the new USDA weekly sodium limits governing school meals, which are aligned with the FDA voluntary sodium targets,” said Amr Shaheed, technical service manager-food applications, Innophos, Cranbury, NJ. “To allow nutrition professionals time to implement the changes, the rule proposes a multi-year approach to reducing weekly sodium targets starting in 2025. Given this timeline, new product formulation needs to start now.”
Ingredient suppliers are ready to help with different ingredient technologies to reduce a little bit here and a little bit there, or making functional substitutions, while maintaining product quality and safety. The efforts are a significant step in creating a healthier food supply to help reverse the trend of diet-related chronic diseases, according to the FDA. That’s because too much sodium increases the risk for developing hypertension, thereby raising the risk for heart attacks and strokes.
Phosphates are used in many meat and poultry products to keep them from drying out, as phosphates increase the water-binding capacity of proteins by raising their pH. Higher pH opens fibrous proteins, allowing moisture migration, which the proteins grab onto. The binding of water increases yields. The proteins also are better able to retain marinade and cook juices, thereby reducing purge and assuring that meat is succulent once cooked.
“Recently we’ve worked with meat manufacturers looking to take steps to update their formulas with alternatives to traditional sodium to help meet current guidelines,” Shaheed said. “Our blend of potassium and sodium phosphate helps to provide greater yield and binding in meat and poultry products while offering up to 93% less sodium than typical sodium phosphates. This helps manufacturers reduce sodium levels significantly for products like deli meats and chicken nuggets, staying in line with increased government regulatory scrutiny while providing healthier lunch options to school children.”
