Salt of the Earth has collaborated with Israeli meat companies to meet sodium-reduction regulations in several types of meat products using Mediterranean Umami.

A new clean-label ingredient, Mediterranean Umami is claimed to have the potential to lower sodium by 25% to 33% or more in processed meats.

It is a blend of natural sea salt, and vegetable concentrates and extracts, as well as helps improve flavour.

Salt of the Earth business unit director David Hart said: "The food industry is under significant pressure to reformulate products to reduce sodium content.

"We enjoy working in partnership with our customers to help them create healthier products. Mediterranean Umami is highly relevant to the meat industry, an on-trend solution that allows for significant sodium reduction while being clean-label and natural."

Salt of the Earth’s development work with the meat companies demonstrated that sodium reduction can be achieved across a variety of meat products, including frankfurters, sausages and injected chicken pastrami.

The sea salt solutions provider further explained that Mediterranean Umami was also able to eliminate the use of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and yeast extracts in meat products while retaining the desired texture.

External tasting panels have confirmed that consumers preferred the products with reduced sodium containing Mediterranean Umami.

Salt consumption in majority of Western countries is around twice the WHO recommendation, which is 2,300mg of sodium (salt) or 6g of salt a day.

UK’s Food Standards Authority (FSA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Israeli Ministry of Health have issued limits for salt content of meat products.