B. Siegmund & E. Leitner (Eds): Flavour Sci., 2018, Verlag der Technischen Universität Graz DOI: 10.3217/978-3-85125-593-5-28, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 131 Influence of salt reduction on flavour release in ready-to-eat meals CÉCILE RANNOU 1 , Florence Texier 1 , Philippe Courcoux 2 , Véronique Cariou 2 and Carole Prost 1 1 Oniris, UMR CNRS GEPEA 6144, Flavour Group, BP82225, 44322 Nantes cedex 3, France 2 StatSC, Oniris, INRA, BP82225, 44322 Nantes cedex 3, France Abstract Salt reduction in food is becoming a major concern for public authorities since a high sodium diet is associated with an increased risk of hypertension and obesity [1,2,3,4]. As convenience products and ready-to-eat meals are one of the main sources of dietary sodium, the food industry is encouraged to produce low-sodium formulations. However, salt is a well-known flavour enhancer and its reduction could modify the release of volatile compounds, thereby affecting flavour perception. In this study, a salt reduction of 40% in a meal composed of chicken, pasta and cheese sauce significantly impacts its flavour perception evaluated in sensory analysis compared to the reference meal with no salt reduction. The decrease of flavour intensity could be related to the decreased amount of terpenes as these compounds are known to be highly odour-active. Introduction Sodium chloride, usually referred to as salt, provides about 90% of people’s dietary sodium intake [1]. The World Health Organization recommends a maximum salt intake of 5 g/day for adults. However, in the industrial countries, the mean sodium intake is generally higher [2]. Dietary sodium intake mainly originates from processed foods (75- 80%), from non-processed foods (5-10%), and from the salt added during the preparation of meals or at the table (10-15%) [1]. A salt consumption higher than the physiological needs is known to increase blood pressure, leading to the development of noncommunicable diseases, such as hypertension, cardiovascular diseases or coronary heart disease [1,2,4]. Lowering the salt intake of individuals is one of the main challenges for authorities to prevent health diseases [5]. During industrial food processing, salt is largely used as a flavour enhancer. A reduction of its amount in foods may modify their organoleptic properties, especially taste. However, taste has been pointed out to be one of the main drivers of liking, which motivates consumers to purchase a product [6]. Considering the pressure of the public authorities on the food industry to reduce salt in their products, the main challenge is to formulate food with lower sodium content while maintaining satisfying organoleptic qualities [6]. Processed foods are particularly rich sources of sodium. In Europe, the main sources of sodium are bread and cereal products, delicatessen, sauces and condiment, ready-to-eat meals, cheese, soups, pasta dishes and pizzas [1,3,7]. The consumption of convenience foods and ready-made meals is steadily increasing, as is the development of obesity and other diseases related to high sodium intake. This phenomenon is related to our modern life style which involves less time spent for meal cooking [8]. Many solutions have been tested to reformulate foods with lower sodium content while maintaining an acceptable organoleptic quality. Each solution must be adapted to the type of food, as salt may also have a technological role, especially for microbial safety [1,9]. For ready-to-eat meals, the solutions tested involve direct salt reduction, use of substitutes such as potassium chloride and flavour enhancers such as yeast extract and