Sodium Reduction in Bread: A Role for Glasswort (Salicornia ramosissima J. Woods)

Excessive dietary sodium (salt) intake is a primary cause of high blood pressure and, consequently, a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. The World Health Organization wants to reduce the current sodium mean intake of approximately 4 g/d by half. Bread is commonly consumed and a major source of sodium. Therefore, reducing sodium content in bread would bring important economic and public health benefits. Thus, the goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the role of salt in bread manufacturing, summarize already tested reduction strategies, and explore glasswort (Salicornia ramosissima J. Woods) as a salt substitute. Some alternatives to the sodium additives often used in the bread-making process are also suggested. For this, an extensive literature review was carried out. Overall, salt reduction in bread, while maintaining product quality, is difficult to accomplish due to its multifunctional role in the bread-making process. Several strategies have been tried so far, with only partial success. Consequently, the use of glasswort (S. ramosissima J. Woods) as salt substitute shows great potential. However, other research is still needed to safely implement it in the baking industry. On the other hand, the reduction of salt alone is not the complete answer, and the replacement of sodium-based additives also needs to be considered to effectively lower sodium consumption.