Sodium is an essential nutrient, and its excessive intake can cause health problems. Therefore, products derived from botanical extracts are being developed as alternatives to reduce salt.
El World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recommend an average salt intake of fewer than 5 grams per day (less than 2 grams of sodium) to prevent chronic diseases (WHO / FAO, 2003). In 2010, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended less than 2.3 milligrams per day and 1.5 milligrams per day for those aged 51 years or older on average and children with hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease.
Most of the daily sodium intake comes from processed and prepared foods consumed in restaurants or purchased in convenience stores, causing people to acquire saltier tastes. To reduce sodium intake, many restaurants and food manufacturers are beginning to reformulate their food products.
Major food companies such as Kraft, General Mills, Frito-Lay, Campbell’s, etc., have announced their plans and actual goals to reduce sodium levels in their products. The challenge is to maintain the salt’s functionality and reformulate to maintain consumer preference.
Yeast extract is an ideal ingredient for salt reduction
extractos de levadura offer taste properties to support the development of salt-reduced and flavorful foods and beverages. Thanks to their strong natural aromatic taste, similar to spices, yeast extracts allow manufacturers to reduce up to 50% the sodium content of numerous dishes (soups & broth, sauces & dressings, snacks & seasonings, and more) without compromising their taste.
They help increase salty perception (thanks to umami taste) or bring some nice flavor notes. The product taste is reinforced, and the lack of salt/sodium is not noticed while still very good.
A wide range of yeast extract is provided to help food manufacturers address the worldwide movement for salt reduction, which allows for a significant salt reduction in their products without sacrificing the flavor.
Yeast extract is a natural flavoring ingredient; just like herbs and spices in food processing, it brings out the taste and boosts flavors. There are different types of yeast extracts, and each one has a specific influence on taste:
Contributes to umami flavor
Umami is usually known as the “fifth taste,” along with saltiness, sweetness, sourness, and bitterness. Umami has the particularity of bringing “mouthfulness” and long-lasting flavor and improves the food’s overall taste. This flavor is naturally found in foods such as tomatoes, mushrooms, or parmesan cheese.
Yeast extract is a seasoning that appeals to the receptors for the basic umami taste. Due to its ability to increase salty perception, it’s a key tool for salt reduction.
Brings taste and reveals notes
Yeast extract is a natural ingredient to build taste. It allows you to get subtle and savory taste profiles by bringing base notes like bouillon and specific notes like meaty, cheesy, and vegetable flavor notes.
Using a new kind of yeast extracts called”Kokumi” can help food manufacturers achieve up to 50% salt reduction in their food formulations without compromising taste.
Yeast extract is the ideal companion for a low-salt diet. It had been used in many recipes such as Bolognese sauce, chicken bouillon, flavored bacon snacks, and vegan burgers.
Yeast extract is a natural and nutritional food ingredient
extractos de levadura contain naturally occurring amino acids, which provide a rich and savory taste in foods, exceptionally high in protein.
Yeast extract has a protein content of about 50%, of which about 20% is glutathione, 6% is a nucleic acid. It is rich in 18 kinds of amino acids, functional peptides glutathione, dextran, mannan, trehalose, flavoring nucleotide, B vitamins, biotin, trace elements, and volatile aromatic compounds, and other components.
Conclusión
Extracto de levadura is the ideal companion for a low-salt diet. By using yeast extract, the sodium in food formulations can be reduced by up to 50%. Thanks to its savory taste, the dishes nevertheless do not lack seasoning.
In addition, yeast extract convinces other characteristics that support a healthy diet: it is a natural food essential nutrient for the human body.
