Strategies for salt reduction in foods.

The amounts of sodium chloride in the formulation of a variety of foods like bakery, meats and dairy foods, ready meals, sauces and snacks, are relatively large and thus, have a strong contribution on the salt dietary intake. There is a clear demand by the consumers and medical associations to reduce the salt content in foods. Different strategies have been proposed and most of them consist of the replacement of sodium chloride by other salts and the addition of other substances for an acceptable sensory quality. The recent patents for salt reduction and their applications in foods are reviewed in this manuscript.