Replacing salt with naturally-brewed soy sauce can help reduce salt in foods without compromising taste, according to a study in the Journal of Sensory Studies.
The relationship between the high salt consumption and hypertension has led to dietary recommendations to reduce salt in foods, however this is often difficult to achieve.
Researchers from Japanese soy sauce company Kikkoman and the National University of Singapore conducted research by replacing salt with naturally-brewed soy sauce for three different foods: salad dressing, tomato soup and stir-fried pork.
The scientists allowed participants to choose between a salt standard and a variety of soy sauce food samples. In a separate session, consumers were asked to evaluate the pleasantness and several sensory attributes of another five varieties of the food samples based on the proportion of salt and soy sauce added.
The study concluded that it was possible to reduce added salt by 33 to 50 percent in the foods studied when soy sauce was used to replace added salt during food preparation.
This new methodology could be used by food industries to produce reduced-salt products or by consumers at home.