Expert view: the Right Potassium-Sodium Balance in Bakery Products

Processed foods are notoriously high in sodium and, unless fortified, low in other essential minerals such as potassium, but can anything be done to restore the balance? The key to gaining healthier products is to increase potassium and reduce sodium in chemically leavened baked goods.

By Michelle Briggs, head of Technical, Kudos Blends

A decrease in the overall health of the global population has been recorded. The reliance on convenience foods stretches across social classes and ethnic groups worldwide. Its impact on global health should not be underestimated.

Potassium is one of the many minerals that modern day diets are deficient in. If the increase in consumption of convenience food continues, the recommended intake of potassium will not be met. In 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a guideline report on potassium intake for adults and children, highlighting that potassium deficiency is a global issue.

How can potassium levels in diets be increased?

WHO recommends increasing potassium in diets to reduce blood pressure and subsequent risk of cardiovascular disease in adults. Mandatory initiatives, such as vitamin fortification of wheat flour in the UK, have previously been introduced in order to increase dietary calcium, iron, thiamine and niacin intake. Flour is a commodity product that is widely consumed and, as such, was thought to be a good fortification vehicle.

The most effective solution is to use processed foods as a vehicle to increase dietary potassium intake, particularly in categories where changes to ingredients can be made without affecting the product taste, quality and texture. Potential potassium-based ingredients that could be used in processed foods include potassium bicarbonate, potassium chloride and potassium phosphates, alongside others that are used in much smaller quantities such as potassium sorbate and potassium citrate. Using ingredients that are similar to these is a simple way of reducing sodium consumption in diets, as these ingredients can be used as an alternative to sodium-based options.

What about sodium?

It is well known that an excess of sodium in diets is one of the leading causes of high blood pressure. The most obvious way to reduce sodium consumption is to simply remove added salt from processed foods. In some circumstances, this is effective, but what must be considered fully are both the impact on taste and the manufacturing process. In bread products, reducing the added salt content can significantly affect the structure and texture of the finished loaf, as well as impacting heavily on taste. More significantly, if the salt level is reduced too much, processing through industrial bread plants can become almost impossible as the dough becomes too sticky to handle. These effects can be mitigated to a certain extent, but what cannot be replaced is the significant effect that salt has on the shelf life of a product.

In chemically raised goods, such as cakes, doughnuts, pancakes and flat breads, the use of sodium acid phosphate (SAPP) is commonplace across Europe. As a highly functional raising agent, it controls the release of carbon dioxide gas during the manufacturing process. This enables the industry to produce baked products in the wide range of shapes and sizes that we see in the market place today. Sodium bicarbonate is widely used across the bakery industry, either on its own in biscuit products or alongside SAPP, where significant gas release is needed to give the required light fluffy texture. Both sodium bicarbonate and SAPP are high in sodium (27.4 per cent and 20.7 per cent, respectively) and, as sweet baked goods, such as muffins, are not recognized for their salty taste, the sodium level can often go unnoticed.