Beyond the issue of maintaining taste, the Federation says it is also concerned at the impact on bread product quality by reducing salt in formulations. {Federation director Gordon] Polson claims that there are technical barriers that need to be overcome in terms of basic quality of bread, if further salt reductions can prove viable.

“We have been honest with the FSA and told them that we may not be able to meet the 2012 targets,” he says. “We have therefore offered to work with the FSA, perhaps through joint studies, in working to support and find future alternatives to salt use.”

The story notes that other bakery groups have also challenged the new targets, noting that the supplier Givaudan feels product integrity cannot be maintained:

Givaudan claims that salt is a profound ingredient for all types of food formulation. In accepting this, the company adds that the impacts it can have on more functional focuses like stickiness of dough should not be underplayed.