Sodium chloride reduction in bread: chemical and sensory characterization among teenagers

The research’s purpose was to verify the sensory acceptability of bread made with different levels of sodium chloride (NaCl), potassium chloride (KCl) and monosodium glutamate (MSG) among teenagers and evaluate the product’s chemical composition. In Step 1, five samples were prepared with NaCl and KCl (0 to 0.60%). Step 2 used the same percentages that were used in Step 1, with 0.30% of MSG, though. The samples with KCl (0.45% and 0.60%) were the less accepted for flavour in comparison with the standard formulation, while the one with 0.60% of KCl got lower scores for aftertaste, overall acceptance and purchase intent in comparison with the standard formulation. The addition of MSG promotes the products’ acceptability increase, enabling the addition of up to 0.45% of KCl. The bread presented the following levels of moisture, ash, protein, lipid, carbohydrate and energy, respectively: 24.47 g.100g-1, 0.91 g.100g-1, 8.91 g.100g-1, 8.50 g.100g-1, 57.18 g.100g-1, 340.73 kcal.100g-1. The formulation F4, with greater addition level of KCl and whose sensory acceptance was similar to the standard formulation, presented contents of 338.70 and 375.60 mg/day of sodium (Setps 1 and 2, respectively). We can infer that it is possible to restrain the NaCl level in breads, especially through the joint use of NaCl (0.15%), KCl (0.45%) and MSG (0.30%) to improve their acceptability among teenagers.