Reducing Salt in Foods

Cindy Beeren is the head of the Sensory and Consumer Science unit at Leatherhead and is the Sensory and Consumer Research Forum Liaison Officer. Cindy's role involves supervising sensory and consumer related activities (confidential-, forum- and collaborative- research), designing and running sensory training programmes and providing the latest sensory and consumer research to Leatherheads members. She is graduated as a Food Marketer and has gained considerable experience working in the food & ingredient Industry in companies such as Mars and Daniscoas a sensory technologist and a flavourist. Professor Kathy Groves FRMS, FIFSTKathy graduated in Biochemistry at the University of London and joined Leatherhead Food Research as a food microscopist. Until recently she managed the food microstructure area at Leatherhead working mainly within Food Innovation. Kathy has over 35 years experience in the food microscopy field, covering research into a range of products including ingredient functionality, meat product quality, emulsions and confectionery products. She has worked with the UK Food Standards Agency and Defra on methods to detect mechanically separated meat and has presented on nanotechnology to the UK Government.Kathy is currently director of the microstructure consultancy Foodview Ltd and is visiting professor at the University of Chester. Dr Pretima M Titoria, Head of Food Ingredients, Food Innovation, Leatherhead Food ResearchPretima graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) in Food Technology at University of Reading and obtained her Ph.D. in the area of rheological characterisation of food biopolymers/hydrocolloids at Cranfield University. She continued to develop her skills in this area over several years while working at the Institute of Food Research, Norwich and at Dupont Cereal Innovation Centre, Cambridge, before joining Leatherhead Food Research in 2001. Pretima now leads the Food Ingredients team, and project-manages several Confidential Contract Research projects and Member-funded Research Projects. Pretima has many years’ experience in physico-chemical characterisation of ingredients, interim products and final products, focusing on the textural and microstructural properties and their effect on product quality and stability; her specialist expertise is in rheology for studying hydrocolloid/biopolymer behaviour, structuring and applications in food and drink products. Pretima is also involved with assessment of emerging technologies for the food & beverage industry, and is the Fellow at the Institute of Food Science and Technology (FIFST).

• Part One: Dietary Salt, Health and the Consumer1. Dietary salt intake: sources and targets for reduction 2. Dietary salt, high blood pressure and other harmful effects on health and health issues of other sodium containing ingredients 3. Mechanisms of taste perception and physiological controls 4. Reported consumption and awareness of associated health risks 5. Impact of reduced salt products in the market place 6. Focus on salt reduction in children. Adjusting from an early age  7. Improving the labelling of the salt content of foods  Part Two: Strategies and Implications for Salt Reduction in Food Products8. Key issues of salt reduction 9. Alternative Ingredients to Sodium Chloride  10. Preservation issues in reduction salt in food products 11. Sensory approaches in reducing salt in food products 12. The use of bitter blockers to replace salt in food products Part Three: Reducing Salt in Particular Foods13. Reducing salt in meat and poultry products 14. Reducing salt in seafood products 15. Reducing salt in bread and other baked products 16. Breakfast cereals and breakfast goods (eg. include peanut butter etc) 17. Reducing salt in snack products  18. Reducing salt in cheese and dairy products  19. Reducing salt in ready meals and soups 20. Sauces and seasonings  Part Four: Future of Salt Reduction21. Salt reduction in fast food services and catering  22. Emerging ingredients and the future