Nottingham-based Eminate has patented a process that re-engineers salt to create free-flowing, microscopic hollow balls that deliver an intense hit on the taste buds and can still be listed as ‘salt’ on food labels.
Dubbed Soda Lo, the ‘micro-salt’ has already undergone extensive trials in the UK and is now being tested by US manufacturers keen to reduce sodium and keep their labels clean, chief executive Roger Carline told FoodManufacture.co.uk.
“We’ve sent out our first 10-tonne shipment to the US; there is a significant market there as manufacturers come under pressure to reduce sodium.”
US distribution deal
Eminate struck a deal with Wisconsin-based Main Street Ingredients last October to distribute Soda Lo in the US, and expected products containing Soda Lo to hit shelves in the US this year, said Carline.
“There are a lot of trials going on and we expect to see products on shelf this year.”
As for the UK, the biggest successes had been in the bread and bakery sector, but extensive trials have also been conducted with cheese, vegetarian sausages, crisps, sauces, soups, breakfast cereals, muffins, pizza bases, rice crispie-style snacks and bakery premixes, he said.
The results in bread had been particularly impressive, enabling plant bakers to cut salt by more than 80% without impacting volume, texture or weight and achieve significant increases in shelf-life as the tiny salt crystals cross-link gluten in dough more effectively, helping to lock in moisture, said chief technical officer Dr Stephen Minter.