With a rich history spanning nearly 100 years, Salt of the Earth is one of the world’s leading salt producers and suppliers. Nestled in the middle of a salt plain in Israel, Salt of the Earth has three production sites, which means that it can harvest salt from three seas - the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Dead Sea. Export manager Avi Freund spoke to FoodIngredientsFirst about how, in a world where salt is the bad guy, Salt of the Earth is at the forefront of making sure that food producers are offered a low-sodium alternative that maintains taste.
One might expect the salt industry to be suffering due to the bad publicity this essential mineral gets, but Freund says that Salt of the Earth has not noticed any decline in sales. “Salt is essential to many bodily functions,” says Freund. “But globally we are consuming double the recommended salt (sodium) and this is due to the food processing industry. The industry likes to use salt because it is cheap, heavy [in weight] and it conserves food, as well as boosting its taste. It is looking for alternatives and if we as a company are to take part in this trend, we have to offer a solution.”
For a long time there was a trend towards low sodium salt, which was produced using a combination of sodium and potassium salt, which lowered the sodium content and increased potassium intake. However, says Freund, this is a trend that is not popular. Firstly, potassium is very expensive to produce, he says. Also, the mineral leaves a bitter aftertaste, which means that often you need to add taste inhibitors to the formulation. According to Freund, this is not a sodium alternative that the food industry is willing to pursue unless it is really pushed.
“At Salt of the Earth we do produce this low salt alternative, but I don’t think that it is the solution for the food industry. What we have done is to develop another solution, Umamix. This is a low-sodium mix of tomato extract and sea salt which, if combined in a way that provides the right taste and keeps it workable for the industry, is key to success,” says Freund. “This mix of just two ingredients has been trialled in many different foods and the results show that it is in keeping with the two big factors – sodium reduction and maintaining taste.”
Taste is the ‘motto of development’, says Freund. Customers really don’t want to change the taste of their foods, probably because the consumer is familiar with the salty taste. “We first trialled this product on canned tuna as it had a high sodium content. With Umamix, we have managed to reduce sodium by 28%, while retaining its taste,” he says.
“We now have applications for burgers, in which we have reduced salt and MSG by 45% and we have also found that products such as dressings and mayonnaise are good applications.”
There are also specific sectors that lend themselves to the Umamix, such as the airline industry. “When people fly, they drink more tomato juice. Why? Because the air pressure reduces the umami/salt taste and passengers drink tomato juice to retain the taste. If the Umamix is added to airline food, then more passengers will eat it because is tastier and healthier.”
Sectors such as hospitals and schools are also always looking for healthier tasty alternatives and this product is a good solution for them. Salt of the Earth has conducted several successful trials with hospitals in the US and in Israel and in some cases has reduced sodium by 25%, while making the food even tastier.
The Umamix was launched on the market some nine months ago and having had successful launches in Europe at FiE and looking forward to its US launch in Chicago’s NRA show in May, Freund has received many enquiries. What he wants to emphasise is that this product is not a 1:1 replacement for sodium.
“The task is to enhance the product’s flavor while making it healthier,” he said. “So we can reduce the salt content by 50% and replace it with a very small amount of Umamix. The cost implications when compared with salt are worthwhile because although the Umamix works out at $4/kilo, compared with salt at $1/kilo, the producer uses less of it and because of the health claim, can sell the final product for more.”
“Further advantages are that this product is natural, clean label, functional and can last at ambient temperatures for around 18 months. It is ready-mixed, with no additives or preservatives and the food producer does not need to make any other changes to the formulation.
“For most products we need to check how the Umamix behaves in the application because it won’t behave in exactly the same way as sodium, but for most there won’t be any changes. It is not recommended for cheese, but it is perfect for sauces and dressings as it doesn’t have any effect on the taste or color of most,” explains Freund.
For Salt of the Earth, salt production will always be its core business; indeed it is the most popular brand of table salt in Israel. However, the industry is looking for a healthier alternative and the company has to be in a position to offer solutions that will bring the same taste while also reducing sodium levels, and being cost-effective. What is also very important to Salt of the Earth and its owners, is that the final product is sustainable and natural. Freund thinks that Salt of the Earth has all this and more covered and is looking forward to a healthy future.
