Salt reduction: an important issue

The salt-content (sodium) in products is an international theme in the food business. Consumer organizations, governments and others involved have put it on the NPD agenda. The bakery industry is partly responsible for this too high daily consumer-intake of salt. Zeelandia takes no half way measures.

Internationally, the sodium-levels in baked products vary, but requests to reduce the salt level e.g. in bread mixes may also become the case in your country. Reduction of salt may influence both the dough characteristics and of course the taste. We have experience and have insight in reduction and the consequences.  In the Dutch market, the breads contain on  average 2% sodium. The daily intake of salt in the Netherlands is 9 grams/day per consumer, and bread is responsible for about 25% of this daily intake.

The  goal is to reduce it to 6 grams/day per consumer. The Dutch bakery organizations together have decided on lowering the average percentage to 1.8% as per 1st January 2009. This percentage is calculated on flour and mix. Zeelandia already delivers industrial bread mixes without salt and all the ‘extra healthy’ bread mixes such as Vikorn and O’mega already have this lower salt level. All other bread mix products that currently contain too much sodium will be changed/redeveloped. This will be done by only reducing the sodium, or replace it partly by other ingredients, to keep the dosage percentage of the mix the same as it was. By this Zeelandia helps the artisanal and industrial bakeries to fulfil  the legal requirements on the level of sodium.

September, 2008