Long-term project

Today's food is too sweet, too salty and too fatty. Consumers like to blame it all on the food industry, but that's not entirely fair. Sugar, salt and fat contribute to a product's unique taste, so it's only logical that those ingredients have played a key role in product development over the decades. Consumers were given what they wanted, without realising that it was bad for their health. We know better nowadays.

Recipes and formulations had to be adapted, and the term 'reformulation' was born. But the ultimate taste experience is closely linked with other organoleptic factors (aroma, structure and mouthfeel). Changing just one aspect will automatically affect the others. So how can a product be developed which contains less salt, sugar or fat and yet still tastes as good as the original?

Artificial sweeteners have proven to be a good alternative for sugar in many cases. The use of vegetable oils has resulted in margarines with less saturated fats and more unsaturated ones. Thanks to technological improvements in the hydrogenation process, the current trans-fatty acid content is way below the required standard.

However, it is more difficult to reduce salt levels. Salt substitutes in which the sodium ion has been replaced by potassium, calcium or ammonium ions, for example, affect the flavour to such an extent that consumers notice immediately. In bread, good results have been achieved by distributing the salt throughout the bread inhomogeneously, resulting in much greater consumer acceptance of the lower salt content.

The complexity of the problem can be illustrated by a classic taste test among beer drinkers. Each time that the members of the test group ordered another glass of beer, the beer was made a little sweeter. Each glass was drunk with no complaints, and when asked whether it tasted any different, the testers said no. The next day the same testers were immediately served the sweetest beer, which they had said tasted normal on the previous day. This time, they found it disgusting and immediately spat it out. Hence, it's not such a bad idea to change formulations step by step as it seems that consumers will get used to it if it's done gradually enough. This is clearly a long-term project.

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