Application of strategies to increase acceptance of foods reformulated with reduced salt and sugar contents

In today’s scenario, the consumption of salt and sugars, despite the efforts made by the food industries to reduce salt/sugars contents in processed products, is still high, due to consumers’ preference towards high salty/sweet stimuli. 

Many of the strategies adopted to maintain high consumers acceptability reduce the salt level by offsetting palatability of products with sodium-salt replacers, and the sucrose level with other compounds that are sweet or affect the sweet taste.  While these approaches reduce the levels of added sugars and salt from processed foods, limiting the risk of metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, they also accustom consumers to a high intensity of salty and sweet flavors.

To reduce the sweetness threshold desired by consumers, a strategy has been advocated which envisages for a gradual reduction in the level of sugar and salt in food without any compensatory technique (Wise et al., Am J Clin Nutr, 2016). This approach is based on the idea that gradually decreasing the level of sugar in food over time can reduce the levels of sweetness desired by the consumer.

Previous research has also shown that while an abrupt salt reduction led to a significant reduction in product acceptance, a strategy of gradually reducing salt in a high sodium-food, was effective in maintaining acceptability throughout the salt reduction process, although it was influenced by individual hedonic sensitivity to salt and/or motivation to reduce dietary salt intake (Bobowski et al., FQ&P, 2015). More in-depth explorations of sucrose/ salt gradual reduction in processed foods are needed to identify to identify the compromised acceptance threshold and the rejection threshold.

Explore the perception and adaptation of consumers to food product with little or no added sugars or salt in different food matrices (e.g., yogurt, bread, coffee, juices, citrus-based drinks). This will be done through a longitudinal intervention study on selected target foods consumed by specific segments of consumers, i.e., students in school canteens (collaboration with SPOKE 7), for sweet taste (sucrose) reduction, healthy or at-risk adult population, for salty taste (sodium chloride) reduction, in at-home or out of home settings.

Foods with small gradual reductions of sucrose/sodium content will be administered, over several weeks, to the two target groups of consumers who will indicate the perceived sweetness/saltiness (Just-About-Right (JAR) scale) and liking (labeled affective magnitude scale (LAM) or other hedonic scale).

The desired saltiness/sweetness thresholds will be determined at the beginning, mid-course, and at the end of the intervention will be monitored to assess the effect of intervention. Decreasing series of stimulus intensity will be measured together with a standard stimulus (control sample) by acceptance testing to identify consumers' impaired acceptance threshold and the rejection threshold. 

A report on tailored interventions’ design and testing will be provided. The results will be used to develop guidelines aimed at accustoming consumers to low-sugar and low-sodium tastes.

• Reduced thresholds of desired sweetness/saltiness of the target foods at the end of the intervention study (consumers may perceive a given concentration of sodium/sucrose in food to be more intensely salty/or sweet than it was before the administration period and come to prefer lower concentrations of sodium/sucrose).

• Identification of food formulation and composition based on consumer perception and needs for specific target groups.

• Identification of blood and blond-orange cultivars with low acid content as raw material for the formulation of low sucrose beverages/drinks.