Acceptance of salt reduction in bakery bread among Moroccan consumers

Background: The use of cooking salt (sodium chloride) for bread preparation is due to several essential sensory and technological properties. Even considered as an essential micronutrient and a salty taste stimulus, a significant dietary sodium intake is positively correlated with high blood pressure levels and some heart diseases. Recently, Morocco has adopted a plan to reduce salt consumption aiming to reinforce the prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and to contribute to the achievement of 2025 global voluntary targets, set by the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2). Aims: The aim of the present study was to determine the acceptance of bakery bread with a different percentage reduction of salt by the Moroccan population. Subjects an Methods: Various percentages of salt reduction in experimental bread; 7%, 10%, 16%, 23%, 30%, and 53%, were tasted and compared with standard market bread by 201 individuals. “Just About Right” (JAR) and purchase scales were used to score the different bread. Results: Bread with 10% and 16% salt reduction were highly accepted by 76% and 79% of tasters, respectively. Based on the JAR score, these types of bread were considered as “just about right’ by 50% and 57% respectively by the participants. The best average score of purchase intent was obtained for salt content of 1.62g and 1.56g per 100g for a reduction of 10% and 16% respectively. Conclusions: The current adopted strategy allows a 16% sodium reduction while maintaining taste quality.