Vinegar could be used for salt reduction: Study

Adding low concentrations of vinegar to foods may enhance perception of saltiness and enable food manufacturers to cut salt content without affecting taste, according to new research from Japan.

The World Health Organization recommends that per capita daily salt consumption should not exceed five grams, but average intake is between 9 and 12 grams, increasing the threat of hypertension, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Food manufacturers have been under pressure to reduce salt content in their formulations, as it is estimated that 60 to 80 per cent of salt consumption comes from packaged foods rather than salt added at the table.

The researchers used a panel of 35 to 40 young female students and established their individual detection thresholds for both salt and vinegar in distilled water solutions. When vinegar was added to a salt solution at half the concentration of the detection threshold of each panelist, they found that the threshold level of salt detection was ‘reduced significantly’.

“This result strongly endorses the usual practice to substitute part of salt with vinegar to give a satisfactory salty taste in dishes,” they wrote.

The study is published in the May edition of the Journal of Food Science