Size-dependent enhancement in salt perception: Spraying approaches to reduce sodium content in foods

Abstract There is a rising need to come up with scalable approaches for reducing the salt content in foods. The product structure design is one of the mechanisms to reduce sodium content without impacting the taste of food. Here we report a new approach involving modification of the size and structure of common salt using two techniques: spray drying (SD) and electrohydrodynamic atomized drying (ED). We characterized the properties of the SD and ED produced salts; with size ranges of 1.21 μm and 520 nm, 2-fold and a 3-fold increase in saltiness were observed, indicative of around 58.67 and 65.34% reduction in sodium levels respectively, to achieve similar levels of saltiness for control salt. Finally, these findings were supported with time-intensity analysis and dissolution characteristics of these salts, demonstrating a promising approach for reducing sodium content in foods, particularly for surface-salting applications.