New salt substitute claims to help flavor profile

Related tags Potassium chloride

Redpoint Bio Corporation says it has filed for patents for a new low-sodium salt substitute it has developed and is now looking for a company to license the technology and the know-how.

The company claims its new product, called Betrasalt, can help improve the flavor profile compared to another salt substitute, potassium chloride, which is a commonly used.

Potassium chloride is anecdotally regarded by some in the food industry as having an undesirable bitter and metallic aftertaste.

Dr Raymond Salemme, CEO of Redpoint Bio, said they hadn’t looked at whether there was any scientific evaluation of this.

However, he said that contract taste testing labs had independently confirmed that the ingredients in Betrasalt, when used in a chicken soup for example, “can suppress some of the bitterness”​ that was there before it was added.

The company claims Betrasalt also retains the cooking functionality and preservative qualities of common table salt (sodium chloride) at a time when the food industry is seeking ways to cut salt content amid growing health concerns.

Dr Salemme said that people in the US consume on average more than 4,000 milligrams of sodium per day, which is well over the maximum consumption level of 2,300 milligrams per day that is recommended by The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005.

He added: “Excess dietary salt is thought to be a contributor to hypertension and associated cardiovascular diseases that are linked to high morbidity and increased healthcare costs.​”

Potential applications

Betrasalt contains a proprietary formulation of ingredients that are commonly available and approved under FEMA (Flavor Extract Manufacturing Association) GRAS (generally recognized as safe).

The formulation can be tuned to a specific type of food applications, according to Salemme, and it would be best suited to salty products where potassium chloride replaces some of sodium.

Redpoint Bio said the issuance of two patents by the US Patent and Trademark Office, covered compositions and methods for Betrasalt.

Dr Salemme added: “Redpoint is actively seeking potential partners interested in commercializing the Betrasalt technology.”

Other companies that have also launched products which they claim can replace salt and counter the undesirable aftertaste associated with potassium chloride include Wild with its SaltTrim and Jungbunzlauer’s sub4salt product.

Redpoint Bio, which develops ingredients that aim to improve the taste of pharmaceutical, food and beverage products, boasts it currently owns or has exclusive licenses to a total of 11 issued US patents and 15 issued foreign patents primarily addressing taste modification.

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