Sensory impact of sodium reduction strategies and the potential of flavor enhancement in nutritionally-improved foods

Dunteman, Aubrey Noelle

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/120296 Copy

Description

Title

Sensory impact of sodium reduction strategies and the potential of flavor enhancement in nutritionally-improved foods

Author(s)

Dunteman, Aubrey Noelle

Issue Date

2023-04-25

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Lee, Soo-Yeun

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Schmidt, Shelly

Committee Member(s)

• Lee, Youngsoo
• Pepino, Yanina

Department of Study

Food Science & Human Nutrition

Discipline

Food Science & Human Nutrition

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• sodium reduction
• flavor enhancement
• monosodium glutamate
• umami
• sugar reduction

Abstract

Sodium overconsumption has been an area of concern as a result of the many negative consequences that can occur to consumers health. With a great deal of sodium in the diet being contributed to by processed and prepared foods, reducing the sodium content in the food supply is vital to limiting the incidence of sodium overconsumption. Based on literature findings, much of the prior research aimed at identifying suitable sodium reduction strategies in foods has focused on salt replacement by potassium chloride (KCl) and has predominantly been evaluated using protein matrices. This work begins by investigating sodium reduction awareness in the food industry and the perceptions of future sodium reduction efforts. The most prevalent strategies discussed fell into the category of flavor modification where KCl was of particular focus. Factors that frequently had a positive contribution to a strategy’s success included: 1) maintaining functionality and important sensory attributes comparable to the original product, 2) being inexpensive to implement, and 3) being perceived as clean label by consumers. Conversely, factors that could negatively affect a strategy’s success included: 1) impacting the product’s flavor adversely, 2) being perceived as not clean label, and 3) having high costs of implementation. Future efforts toward reducing the incidence of sodium overconsumption and limiting sodium content in the food supply fell into three categories: consumer-focused, industry-focused, and research-focused. Of particular importance for future efforts included greater regulatory pressure on the food industry to reduce sodium in their products and expanding consumer nutritional education to assist the population in making healthier dietary choices. Next, the effect of monosodium glutamate (MSG) across white and multigrain bread samples with varying concentrations of sodium content in a consumer acceptance test was investigated. In this study, consumers were accepting of breads with a moderate level of sodium reduction, commensurate with the Food and Drug Administration’s long-term goal of 43% less sodium both with and without MSG. Consumer segmentation revealed that perception of reduced-sodium flavor-enhanced bread samples varied across clusters including those who preferred higher sodium levels in their bread, those who preferred reduced sodium bread containing MSG, and those who liked all of the samples similarly. This study also investigated the impact of consumer information regarding sodium reductions and MSG presence in the samples and the impact of education on the prevalence and health risks associated with sodium overconsumption alongside the potential of MSG in sodium reduction and its safety on sample liking. Although information and education was not found to have any impact on consumer perception of the samples, it indicates that consumer perception around MSG and the clean label movement may be shifting. A descriptive analysis to characterize the bread samples in the aforementioned study was conducted and was used in combination with the data from the consumer test to identify the drivers of liking. The white bread samples differed in the attributes of salty taste and aftertaste, savory aftertaste, and chewy and firm texture whereas the multigrain bread samples differed in the attributes of salty taste and aftertaste, sweet taste, and density. Those containing sodium reduction were generally found to have less salty taste and aftertaste, higher sweetness, and less intense textural attributes. Samples with MSG generally had higher salty aftertastes and less sweetness than their non-enhanced counterparts and a greater umami taste. Regressing the consumer test data onto principal component analysis (PCA) biplots revealed that the primary drivers of liking in white and multigrain included a salty taste and aftertaste as well as textural attributes. Findings of the two studies investigating reduced sodium in bread suggest that consumers are willing to accept a moderate level of sodium reduction in their bread without negative impact to their liking despite the differences in characterization. Flavor enhancement can be used to increase consumer acceptance of basics tastes past just saltiness, including umami and sweetness. Umami, the savory taste typically conferred through MSG, often enhances saltiness and kokumi, a rich mouthfeel typically conferred through glutathione, can enhance saltiness and sweetness. Therefore, the last stage of this work aimed at comparing sensory acceptability of ketchup, a popular condiment which often contains high levels of salt and sugar, with reduced levels of sodium and/or sugar and enhancement by umami and/or kokumi. Analysis of variance showed that liking ratings were rarely impacted by sodium reduction in ketchup while sugar reduction nearly always had a negative impact on liking. Kokumi had limited impact on liking of reduced sugar ketchups, which may result from the complex taste profile of ketchup in comparison to traditionally sweet-dominant foods like chocolate, although an occasionally positive impact could be seen in sweetness liking. When both sugar and sodium were reduced, enhancement containing both umami and kokumi tastes often benefited consumer liking. When consumers were grouped by their sodium intake and by their sugar intake in relation to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 recommendations, several instances of significance had no longer applied including overall and savoriness liking for those who consumed sodium below recommendations, sweetness liking in those who consumed sodium above recommendations, and sweetness and savoriness liking for those who consumed sugar above recommendations. A food label assessment was also utilized in this study to investigate consumer habits relating to use of nutrition information on food labels. While it was found that just over half of participants frequently read nutritional information on food labels, and much less use the nutritional information on food labels, the majority believe the information is not difficult to understand and enough information is provided. Findings indicate that moderate sodium reduction is well accepted in ketchup models although sugar reduction significantly decrease consumer liking.

Graduation Semester

2023-05

Type of Resource

Thesis

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2023 Aubrey Dunteman

Owning Collections