Manufacturers going for low sodium
Valor Econômico
First came the diet and light. Then came the organic and later the products free of trans fat. Now, a new wave hits the food industry: products with less sodium. No wonder: a survey made by the Ministry of Health, released in April, showed that the proportion of Brazilians with hypertension grew by 13.5% from 2006 to 2009, reaching 24% of the population. "With the rates of obesity and cardiovascular diseases growing, consumers are starting to worry more about the quality of food and this pressure comes to industries," says Deborah Peixoto, manager of My Choice Institute, a global organization of representatives of the food industry.
"There are consumers looking for less sodium, so it is important to give options to them," says Carlos Prax, manager of research and development, innovation and quality of Arcor. The company launched a new version of wafers "cream cracker" with 85% lower sodium contents in April. The price is the same of the traditional version. But to keep the product tasty, according to Prax it was necessary to make changes in its formulation.
To lower the level of sodium in foods is not enough just to remove the salt content, as explained Carolina. Godoy, nutrition coordinator of My Choice Institute, which is maintained by Nutrimental, Unilever and Perdigão. "Many times it is necessary to make changes in the formula, because the sodium is not only in the salt. The preservatives have sodium, even though the food is sweet", explained the expert. As it is the case of the ketchup, for instance: although it is used in savory dishes, the taste of the condiment is slightly sweet - a characteristic that surprises the consumer when s/he learns that this is one of the products of the market with a higher concentration of sodium. "Sodium is present even in sweeteners", explains the nutritionist. That's why zero sugar or diet soft drinks are products with high sodium content.
For that reason, PepsiCo decided to invest in an advertising campaign to promote that the cola Pepsi Light has, according to the company, less sodium than its competitors. The company also announced, in March, that it will reduce by 25% the average amount of sodium per serving in its main brands until 2015. Following the same trend, Nestlé, owner of the Maggi brand, is launching a line Sopão Integralles, with 25% less sodium. "Since 2005 the company started a policy that implements an effort to reduce sodium levels in all of our products", says Salvador Pimentel, director of the line of product of Nestlé Maggi.