Processed cheese product has 60 per cent less sodium

Processed cheese is used by food manufacturers because it has several manufacturing advantages over unprocessed cheese, including extended shelf life, resistance to separation when cooked and uniformity of product. There are also significant economic advantages when compared with production by traditional cheesemaking processes.

’With so much processed food being consumed, western diets have about three times more sodium than is needed,’ explained Michael O’Sullivan from the UCD Institute of Food and Health, University College Dublin − one of the scientists involved in the research.

’This excessive intake of sodium is linked to increased rates or hypertension and stroke. So in recent years there has been a move towards reducing sodium in processed foods, including cheese products.’

The processed cheese created by the scientists is made from dry protein ingredients such as casein powder, rather than through the traditional cheese-making process. The cheeses rated well among panellists who preferred the reduced-salt versions to those with standard levels of sodium chloride.