A government-supported research project will help to develop snack manufacturing equipment that cuts salt content without affecting the flavour of the resulting product.
The £750,000 research, carried out at Birmingham and Nottingham universities, is scheduled to end in September and, according to Food Manufacture, has produced mathematical models which will enable the equipment that adds flavouring to snacks to be optimised for maximum flavour and aroma release.
Speaking at a recent seminar, Professor Andy Taylor of Nottingham University described the potential benefits of the work as "significant".
"The challenge is to formulate and deliver flavour to consumers to get the best taste, but with minimal salt," he commented. "You can start to design the system to get what you want."
Professor Taylor said that the research studied the adhesion of flavour particles in fat coatings on the surface of snacks and aimed to reduce the high losses typically found in snack production.
While researchers at Nottingham looked at the mechanism of salt release on the tongue to determine what people experience when they eat, rather than what is actually in the product, Birmingham concentrated on improving equipment design.
United Biscuits, Flavours Direct and equipment supplier KMG Systems have all been involved in the research."
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