Consumers happy to purchase sodium-reduced bread, study shows

Consumers can tell the difference between regular and salt-reduced bread - but they’re still happy to buy the salt-reduced version, according to taste tests conducted by Oregon State University (OSU).

Nearly 200 consumers were asked to sample slices of whole wheat sandwich bread made with normal salt levels and the same bread with 10, 20 and 30% less salt. The regular bread had 14 grams of salt per slice.

Participants could taste the difference in the 20 and 30% salt-reduced bread, but still liked the appearance, texture, smell and taste as much as the regular bread. They reportedly also said they would be willing to buy a loaf of any of the four samples.

“It’s surprising that reducing sodium by nearly a third did not negatively affect how much consumers wanted to buy bread,” said Ann Colonna, who manages the sensory science program at OSU’s Food Innovation Center.

“The results suggest consumers would not be able to detect small, incremental cuts to sodium in bread over time.

“Small reductions are also feasible to manufacturers and wouldn’t require much reformulation to existing recipes.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), bread is one of the largest contributors of sodium to the American diet.

The OSU researchers now plan to establish baselines that show the level at which US consumers can detect less sodium in bread. The few existing studies on sodium reduction in bread are from other countries and cannot be applied in the US as taste differences vary by country, Colonna said.

“The US marketplace and consumers are unique, and food companies need detailed data to reference when potentially reducing sodium levels in the future. We’re trying to get the ball rolling,” said Colonna.