Processed food relies on three main components: salt, sugar, and fat. The combination of these ingredients can yield delightful and budget-friendly snacks that range from sweet to savory, cheesy to crunchy. However, when food manufacturers attempt to modify recipes to lower one or more of these essential ingredients, they must find ways to compensate in other areas. Sugar often takes the lead as the most criticized ingredient among today’s consumers, with sodium closely following. Many major consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are reducing sugar levels to align with consumer preferences and are also voluntarily lowering sodium in response to the FDA’s proposed food industry goals. However, this often results in an increase in saturated fat content.
As consumers strive for healthier diets, one might wonder why food producers don’t simply eliminate salt, sugar, and fat altogether to create genuinely healthy products. The challenge lies in the fact that food scientists need one of these three components to maintain flavor and keep production costs low. Ryan Dolan, the chief operating officer of PTM Food Consulting, likens product nutrition to a pie chart. If slices of sodium and sugar are reduced, another ingredient must increase to balance the loss. The impact of reducing a single ingredient may not be noticeable, but cutting back on two will likely lead to a significant rise in another component.
Industry insiders quoted in The Washington Post were not surprised by the government’s recent report, attributing it to standard practices within the industry. It will be intriguing to see if consumers begin to notice the rising levels of saturated fats in their preferred processed foods. Should saturated fats become the next ingredient under scrutiny, one can expect more reformulations, potentially replacing them with increased sugar or salt. However, saturated fats may currently be viewed as the least problematic of the three. Recent studies have cast doubt on the connection between saturated fats and heart disease, even though the American Heart Association continues to advocate for diets rich in healthier fats. While saturated fats are not deemed healthy, consumer concern regarding fat content has diminished over time. With more than half of the global population prioritizing sugar content when reading labels, this shift in focus by manufacturers is understandable.
In the journey toward healthier eating, the role of calcium citrate could also be emphasized, as it is sometimes used as a supplement in processed foods. This ingredient could offer additional benefits, particularly in terms of nutrition. Nevertheless, as the industry adapts, it’s essential to monitor how these changes impact consumer choices and perceptions regarding ingredients like saturated fats, sugar, and salt—while also considering the potential inclusion of beneficial additives such as calcium citrate.