Low Salt Low Sugar Dairy Products

“ Various types of nutritional studies have constantly proved that salt is a major cause of raised BP. A reduction of salt from the current intake of 9-12 g/day in most countries to the recommended level of 5-6 g/day lowers BP in both hypertensive and normotensive individuals, in men and women, of all age groups. Technology has successfully been developed at ICAR National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal and elsewhere to reduce sodium content of Cheddar cheese using a combination of salt replacer, hydrolyzed vegetable protein and Adenosine-5¹-monophosphate (AMP). Best results were obtained with 75% sodium chloride substitution, 2.0g/Kg hydrolyzed vegetable protein and 300 mg/Kg AMP without any perceptible loss of sensory quality.

Hypertension is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity around the World. It is an important risk factor for chronic diseases of kidneys and thyroid. Sodium is naturally found in foods that we eat. Sodium is most concentrated in processed and packaged foods. Salt is added to foods when preparing meals and as a seasoning before eating. Fast foods, salty snacks and processed curries carry extra salt. High concentrations of salt are harmful for vulnerable human groups.

Dietary ingredients in excess of their advisable daily intakes in foods have adverse effects on cardiovascular health and Blood Pressure (BP). Salt and sugar are naturally present in diets of many people, especially if they consume many processed or precooked foods. Like most foods, salt and sugar are helpful or at least not harmful in small amounts. However, if consumed in too much quantity, they may impact human health with added risk of heart disease and diabetes. Hypertension is sodium-sensitive, often rising and falling with the level of dietary salt intake. High dietary intake of various sugars has also been associated with hypertension and obesity. In addition, dietary factors can directly affect the vasculature, with increased intakes of NaCl, fats, and sugars each being linked with endothelial dysfunction.

Various types of nutritional studies have constantly proved that salt is a major cause of raised BP. A reduction of salt from the current intake of 9-12 g/day in most countries to the recommended level of 5-6 g/day lowers BP in both hypertensive and normotensive individuals, in men and women, of all age groups and in all ethnic groups.

Sodium chloride (NaCl) is a vital ingredient of almost all varieties of cheeses and serves various functions such as providing flavour, syneresis, and controlled microbial growth, etc. Role of NaCl in the technology of cheese production is complex and the salty taste of cheese is one of its characteristics. A reduction in the NaCl content of cheeses or replacement of NaCl by other additives is a considerable challenge, requiring a multivariate analysis. Cheddar cheese contains approximately 6 g/Kg sodium and its increased consumption may result in concomitant increase in dietary sodium intake above the recommended level of 5 g NaCl per day for an adult (WHO, 2012) and thus attempts have been made to reduce sodium levels in Cheddar cheese. Finding an appropriate NaCl substitute in cheese making is very difficult as potassium or calcium lactate are not characterized by the salty taste, while CaCl₂ (due to the content of Ca²⁺ ions) accelerates casein coagulation, which excludes this compound as an NaCl substitute in the dairy industry. Other potential NaCl substitutes are characterized by lower saltiness; for instance, it was calculated that in order to obtain saltiness equivalent for 1% (w/w) of the NaCl content of cream cheeses, the addition of either 2.5% potassium chloride or 2.56% monosodium glutamate or 2.98% potassium phosphate was required. Technology has successfully been developed at ICAR National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal and elsewhere to reduce sodium content of Cheddar cheese using a combination of salt replacer, hydrolyzed vegetable protein and Adenosine-5¹ - monophosphate (AMP). Best results were obtained with 75% sodium chloride substitution, 2.0g/ Kg hydrolyzed vegetable protein and 300 mg/Kg AMP without any perceptible loss of sensory quality.

Low-sodium processed Mozzarella cheese has also been developed by partial replacement of sodium chloride with potassium chloride (KCl) and also by using potassium-based emulsifying salts, i.e., potassium citrate and dipotassium phosphate, in place of sodium-containing salts. The study suggested a combination of 31.0% of KCl and 2.0% of emulsifying salt to be optimum, and at these levels, the product received maximum sensory scores. Hardness, meltability, and stretchability of the product were reported to be 14.355 N, 21.68 cm and 15.07 cm, respectively. Full-sodium and low-sodium cheeses had 905 mg/100 g and 260 mg/100 g sodium, respectively. Thus, the study resulted in 71.27% reduction in overall sodium content of processed Mozzarella cheese.

The current high intake of added sugars increases obesity, which, in turn raises BP. Recent studies also suggest that added sugars, particularly those in soft drinks, may have a direct impact on BP. Actions to reduce sugar intake across the whole population will have major beneficial effects on health along with major cost savings.

Studies in children and adults have found that reducing sugary drink consumption can lead to better weight control among those who are initially overweight. Decreasing sugary drink consumption in adolescents has a beneficial effect on body weight that was strongly linked with baseline BMI. The replacement of caloric beverages with non caloric beverages resulted in weight losses of 2.0 to 2.5%.

The prevalence and increase of numerous diseases has continued to spark consumer demand for reducing sugar in dairy and other food products. Added sugars and sugar naturally present in food do not differ chemically, but there is a large health concern about added sugar due to the addition of unnecessary calories. Over the past two decades, consumer focus on health has increased, leading to a significant push for healthier food choices. With rising dairy product popularity, there comes a new demand from consumers for low-calorie products that taste the same as their higher calorie counterparts. Over consumption of sugar can contribute to hyper tension, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and dental cavities.

Dairy products such as yogurt, chocolate milk, custards, shakes, milk sweets and ice cream are high source of added sugar. Various methods are available for reducing sugar to improve the healthiness of dairy products without losing flavor, which include direct reduction, sugar substitution, ultra-filtration, lactose hydrolysis and many others. Because consumers desire sweet taste, sugar substitution is a preferred method to reduce calories while preserving sweet taste. Sugar substitution has been successfully done, however, in many products such as frozen yogurt, yogurt, and chocolate milk using Isomalt. Natural sugar stevia, at 0.7 to 5.5% (wt/wt) substitution concurrently with mildly sweet bulk fillers or some sucrose, could be used in naturally flavored vanilla low-fat yogurt. Total substitution of 8% sugar in yogurt with fructooligosaccharide combined with stevia and palatinose and the combination lead to a taste similar to that of the sucrose content. Chocolate milk could be partially sweetened with monk fruit and stevia to successfully reduce sugar and maintain sweet taste.

Technologies have also been developed at NDRI, Karnal to formulate reduced sugar and low calories traditional Indian milk products like burfi, peda, basundi, chhana murki etc. using ingredients, viz. low fat khoa, WPC, maltodextrin, sorbitol and sucrolose. It was found that these ingredients may provide about 30-50% reduction in total sugar, fat and calorie contents with comparable sensorial attributes.

Chr. Hansen have launched ‘Sweety Y-1’ by combining a mixture of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus allowing dairy manufacturers to create naturally sweeter fermented products as lactose is converted into glucose omitting the need for added sugars.

Food Regulating Agency of India may come up with mandatory requirements by appropriate colour labelling of high salt and/or high sugar food products which may contain more amounts of any of these ingredients per serving than their ADI level. Understanding current sugar-reduction and salt reduction techniques, and consumer response to such reduction in dairy products is important for dairy manufacturers to design and produce new products. Sugar and salt reduction is an inherently difficult task due to their many functions in food products but progress is being made to make products acceptable to consumers. Manufacturers can use different ingredients and techniques to produce highquality products to help reverse the negative health effects caused with high sugar and salt consumption.

Options are available to the dairy industry to reduce sugar in ice cream flavoured milk and yoghurt without sacrificing flavour and texture. Sorbitol and sucrolose are most accepted in calorie reduced ice creams. Erythritol and lactitol have also been used to create low calorie ice cream. Frozen yoghurt is a healthy alternative to ice cream because of its lower fat content and the presence of lactic acid bacteria. Inulin and isomalt are good substitutes for fat and sugar. Flavoured milk is popular among children and others because of its taste and ability to meet dietary requirements. Added sugar could be reduced in flavoured milk using natural non nutritive sweeteners.