Although ripened cheeses are a valuable source of essential nutrients in the human diet, they also contain significant quantities of Na and supply dietary sodium. However, a high concentration of Na can induce lifestyle diseases, e.g. cardiovascular diseases, stroke, cancer and osteoporosis. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends an intake of < 5 g per day of dietary NaCl and < 2 g per day of Na. Consumer habits should be changed in addition to reducing the content of NaCl by changing the technology of cheese production. The role of NaCl in cheese production does not enable its complete elimination, as this would result in significant deterioration of the quality of cheeses. This paper reviews research into the reduction of Na content in cheeses maintaining their high quality to be acceptable by consumers. It elaborates on the effect of the reduction in the NaCl content of cheeses on the processes of proteolysis and lipolysis as well as on the survivability of microorganisms. The possibilities for the use of NaCl blended with other salts, e.g. KCl, which can replace NaCl up to 25-50%, was presented. The attempts to use flavour enhancers as well as food flavourings in order to improve the consumer acceptability of cheeses were analysed and difficulties in finding substitutes to table salt due to its unique salty taste and effects on the course of microbiological and enzymatic processes were highlighted. The role of NaCl in the technology of cheese production is complex, requiring a multivariate analysis, and the reduction in NaCl content in cheeses or the replacement of NaCl by other additives do not solve the problem of a high concentration of Na in the human diet.

24.2.2019