Solving Sodium: Manufacturers Face Challenges and Innovation

Many of our favorite foods – French fries, bread, and potato chips come immediately to mind – contain a special, essential ingredient: salt. Also known as sodium chloride, this abundant mineral not only acts as a flavor enhancer and preservative, it plays a crucial role in our bodies when consumed in moderation. Sodium helps keep calcium and other minerals soluble in the blood, it stimulates the adrenal glands, and it aids muscle activity. But it’s the “consumed in moderation” part that has many people worried. Sodium intake in the U.S. is at an all-time high. Because industry-wide sodium reduction is such a formidable challenge – and such a high priority – it will be necessary for food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, food technologist and engineers to combine their efforts to find innovative ways to tackle the issue.