Low Fat and Low Salt May Mean Low Taste

Sensory research on cheese from France suggests that when you reduce sodium (salt) content of low-fat cheese it has a greater impact on the flavor than similar reductions from high fat cheese. Cheese is often cited as one of the main sources of salt sodium in the diet, and is a major part of a French diet as well as many Western diets, which is what made researchers in food research want to understand how best to reduce salt content in food without altering flavor perception.

Five cheeses were formulated with different dry matter, fat content, and salt content. Testing showed that fat played a major role in the release of aroma and the olfactory perception, while the perception of saltiness was not affected by the texture of the cheeses.

Writing in the journal Food Chemistry, scientists from the National Institute of Agronomical Research (INRA) reported, "Variations in salt content and sensory interactions therefore seem to have a greater impact on products with low fat content than on those with high-fat content."

Salt is of course a vital nutrient in the nutrition panel and is necessary for the body to function, but campaigners for salt reduction, like the Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) consider the average daily salt consumption in the western world, between 10 and 12g, far too high and reference studies that connect high salt intake with blood pressure (hypertension), and cardiovascular disease (CVD) .

The pressure has been mounting on food manufacturers to reduce the salt content of their foods. In the UK, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) recommends six grams of salt per day as a more realistic target.

Food sensory research continues to seek the balance between healthy and tasty food formulations.