Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Table salt is the main source of sodium Na in the human diet. Excessive supply of Na in a diet is strongly linked to many non-communicable human diseases, such as hypertension, obesity and stomach cancer. Initiatives to reduce salt intake include modifications of food composition in collaboration with the food industry, education of consumers, salt marking on foodstuff labels and taxation of salt.
A need also exists to educate society so that they choose low-sodium products. In view of the food technology and amount of salt intake, the most important and the easiest change to make is to reduce the content of salt in baked goods. Keywords: salt, salt intake reduction, sodium, cereal products, food education, non-communicable diseases, hypertension, sodium sensitivity, food manufacturing, salt substitutes.
Recently, we have observed a growing consumer interest in food quality and safety as well as the effect it has on human health. Consumers wish food was healthier and contained fewer ingredients believed to have adverse impact on health [ 1 ].
According to Liem [ 3 ], salty taste preference develops due to multiple exposures to salty foods. Infants develop salty taste gradually. Most likely, below three months of age, they are incapable of tasting salt. However, when infants start recognising saltiness, this becomes their preferred taste. Similar to their preference for sweet taste, children prefer salt at higher concentrations than adults do [ 3 ]. Since salt is commonly added to various products and dishes, sodium deficiency in the diet is very rare.
By contrast, excessive sodium intake is a much more frequent problem, which increases the excretion of calcium with urine and aggravates the risk of hypertension [ 5 ]. When 1 g of Na is consumed, as much as 26 mg of Ca will be excreted with urine, which is particularly important for the commonly recorded Ca deficiency in the diets of Polish people [ 6 ]. Long-term commitment to reducing Na intake is a challenge to the general population. According to Global Burden of Disease data [ 7 ], 1. A meta-analysis of studies conducted from to showed that Na reduction following applicable recommendations contributed to reduction in blood pressure by about 0.
