Low-salt cheese contains omega-3 and omega-6 acids

A LOW-SALT cheese in which the animal fat has been substituted by cholesterol-free vegetable fat with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids is the result of the research carried out by the New Foodstuffs Area of AZTI-Tecnalia in the Basque region of Spain. The innovative product has a balanced, healthy nutritional profile and is highly suited to the elderly population and individuals with hypertension. Different types of consumers who have sampled the cheese have rated its taste, aroma and texture highly.

The challenge facing AZTI-Tecnalia researchers was to develop a new method of producing cheese that would allow the bioactive nutrients to be increased and the undesirable compounds, like saturated fat and salt, to be reduced, without affecting desirable organoleptic properties.

Sodium reduction has been achieved by replacing sodium chloride with potassium chloride. AZTI-Tecnalia technicians developed a salting process carried out once the cheese has dried. The new salting technique, instead of the traditional salting that is carried out during cheese production, gives the final product the salty flavour characteristic of cheese. This novel procedure allows the characteristic salty taste to be incorporated while at the same time enabling the amount of salt added to the cheese to be controlled more accurately.

The new cheese has undergone different studies with varied groups of consumers and highly satisfactory results have emerged in terms of taste, aroma and texture. The people participating in the sampling and sensory tests found the product highly recommendable for consumption and rated its healthy properties positively.

The research has the collaboration of the Basque companies, Quesos Ibar and Gomiztegi, and was conducted within the SAIOTEK Programme funded by the Department of Industry, Innovation, Trade and Tourism of the Government of the Basque Autonomous Community.

The transfer of new technologies to companies in the foodstuff sector is one of the aims of AZTI-Tecnalia’s Foodstuffs Research Unit. So the Foundation is planning to establish contacts with companies in the dairy sector that are interested in producing and marketing the new cheese. It is a naturally healthier product, which stands out on the market and has a great potential among consumers with specific nutritional needs.