Tate & Lyle has been granted a patent in the US for its Soda-Lo salt microspheres, and the process used to make it.

Soda-Lo is, says the manufacturer, a ground-breaking, new salt reduction ingredient that tastes, labels and functions like salt because it is salt.

"With Soda-Lo, food manufacturers can reduce salt levels by between 25 and 50 per cent in various applications without sacrificing taste," says Angelique Gunderson, health and wellness platform commercial lead at Tate & Lyle. “

The newly patented technology turns standard salt crystals into free-flowing crystalline microspheres. These smaller, lower-density crystals efficiently deliver salty taste by maximising surface area relative to volume.

"And because Soda-Lo is made from real salt, it has none of the bitter aftertaste or off-flavours associated with some other salt compounds or substitutes."