Salt reduction

The Challenge

Reducing sodium is one of the most demanding reformulation challenges in the food industry worldwide. Cut too much salt, and products become flat and one-dimensional. Consumers notice immediately, and products fail. Yet regulatory pressure and health guidelines continue to push for lower sodium levels across categories—from USDA school meal standards in North America to Nutri-Score in Europe, Health Star Ratings in Australia and New Zealand, traffic light labeling in Latin America, and voluntary reduction targets across Asia. Food manufacturers face an impossible choice: meet sodium targets or maintain taste. Until now.

How Our Solution Works

Our Onion Juice Concentrate Umami variant delivers natural flavor enhancement that allows meaningful sodium reduction without sacrificing taste. Unlike simple salt replacers or flavor masking agents, OJC builds savory depth and complexity from the ground up. It naturally enhances umami—the fifth taste that provides satisfying, mouth-filling savoriness. This allows salt to work more efficiently in your formulation, so you can use less while maintaining or even improving the overall taste profile.

The mechanism is straightforward: onions are naturally rich in glutamates and nucleotides that amplify savory perception. When concentrated, these compounds create a flavor foundation that supports reduced sodium levels while adding complexity, sweetness, and depth that compensate for what's lost when salt is removed.

Proven Results Across Applications

• BBQ Sauces: 30% sodium reduction with improved flavor complexity (6-7% OJC inclusion)
• Chicken Meatballs: 10% sodium reduction plus cost savings from reduced spices (2.2% OJC inclusion)
• Pizza Sauces: 10% sodium reduction while meeting institutional nutrition guidelines (1.5% OJC inclusion)
• Soups, Seasonings, Ready Meals: Consistent sodium reduction across savory applications

Beyond Sodium: Multiple Benefits

Sodium reduction rarely happens in isolation. Our OJC Umami variant typically enables simultaneous reduction of sugar, spices, yeast extract, and other costly or label-unfriendly ingredients. The result is a cleaner label, improved cost-in-use, and a product that tastes better, not just "less bad."

Who Benefits

R&D managers reformulating for regulatory compliance, product developers improving nutritional profiles, food manufacturers targeting institutional foodservice contracts, and brands seeking clean label differentiation—all find sodium reduction with OJC delivers measurable results without compromising consumer acceptance.

Ready to Reformulate?

Explore our technical specifications, request samples, or connect with our applications team to discuss your specific sodium reduction goals.