It’s been an incredible year at Saltsmith – one filled with many learnings and successes as we continue our path to be the low-sodium salt of choice for the UK food and drink industry. Our goal is simple: to support great British food and drink companies in their quest to lower sodium content of their products – all without compromising taste, texture, or shelf-life. 

Here’s a little more information about us, our journey to better the nutritional standards of UK foods, and why our existence is crucial to the future of food and drink production.

What is Saltsmith?

Whilst Saltsmith includes a range of ‘off-the-shelf’ low-sodium salts, it’s actually an opportunity for food manufacturers to create a bespoke low-sodium blend that perfectly suits their product. Our product promises less salt, more flavour, as it helps businesses to comply with the increasing regulatory and consumer pressure to lower the sodium content in products. 

There are numerous reasons why salt is a key ingredient in most foods. Not only does it season the food by imparting saltiness; it also enhances other flavours of the food, affects the texture, acts as a preservative to prolong shelf-life, and is integral to many food manufacturing processes.

Before Saltsmith, food manufacturers had few low sodium options targeted specifically to their products and their unique challenges. Now, with the ability to create blends that are entirely tailored to their needs, manufacturers have a delicious solution to this ongoing problem. 

The race to reduce ‘salt’
So why is low-sodium salt in food manufacturing so necessary? The standard salt used in production is sodium based – and it’s proven to have disastrous effects on our health when consumed at high levels. Yes, we need salt to survive, but WHO has demonstrated we consume more than double the daily recommended intake. These levels can potentially elevate blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of heart attacks and even strokes.

To minimise the damage to public health and reduce the burden on the NHS, the UK government is putting increasing pressure on food and drink producers across all sectors to lower the sodium content in products. Most recent guidelines for food sodium level targets were set by the UK government in 2020, which cover over 80 food categories and are up for review at the end of 2024 to assess industry compliance. These guidelines could become legislation should insufficient industry compliance be found during the evaluation process.

For those targeting compliance and wanting to proactively reduce the sodium content of their products, for the public good - Saltsmith is the answer. 

Why Saltsmith – and Peacock

With a number of low sodium salt varieties on the market – why choose Saltsmith? 

Expertise 
We’re part of Peacock Salt, which has been in operation since 1874, building up expertise on all things salt over centuries. In addition, we’ve crafted an expert team of food scientists, backed by research partners at leading UK and Ireland’s centres of excellence for food and drink. We pour this knowledge into our blends, our craft, and our clients benefit from that expertise.

Bespoke blends
 Standard off-the-shelf blends are a straightforward solution to reducing sodium. But if it isn’t compatible, our in-house team of food scientists can support fine-tuning; from tailoring to specific process and product challenges to conforming to tight production costs. We’ll select blend components through expertise within our supplier network, in-house expertise and customer specifications to perfectly craft a blend that works for you.

As much as we use science throughout this process – we’re ultimately foodies; flavour is everything. In addition to lowering sodium, our blends aim to also delicately balance sweet, bitter, and umami flavours, in a way that’s just right for your product. 

Wide supplier network
The question we’re asked most frequently is: what does it cost? From our own cost evaluation of some standard baked goods, we estimate an uplift of less than 5%, when switching to standard Saltsmith blends from normal salt in the recipe. But we’re powered by Peacock Salt – one of the UK’s oldest and most successful salt producers. We have an international network of suppliers and partners, which we can capitalise on to source blend components that satisfy your cost requirements. It’s also the size and power of this network that allows us to adapt and flex to whatever quantity you need. There is no business too big or too small for Saltsmith to serve. 

Dzeti Zait, Technical Sales Manager at Saltsmith and an experienced Food Scientist said: 

“Food producers are now starting to feel the pressure when it comes to lowering the sodium content within their products – but not all low-sodium solutions on the market are created equal! 

What we’ve learned through working with our existing clients is that tailoring our blends to the product and its challenges gives a superior result. Yes, some of our ‘off-the-shelf’ blends work perfectly for some of our clients, but for those with more specific requirements, the option to create something bespoke is exactly what they need. 

For anyone looking to improve the nutritional quality of their product, I urge you to discover exactly what Saltsmith can do for you.”

Find out more about Saltsmith and get in touch with the team at thesaltsmith.uk.