Pj Ball

Calcium diglutamate improves taste characteristics of lower-salt soup.

Objective: To ascertain (1) whether the taste characteristics of a conventionally-salted (150 mM NaCl) soup can be reproduced in soups of substantially lower NaCl level with the help of added glutamate, and (2) whether calcium diglutamate (CDG) is equivalent to monosodium glutamate (MSG) in its effect on the taste of soup.Design: Cross-sectional, with multiple measurements on each subject.Setting: Healthy university students.Subjects: A total of 107 volunteers, recruited by on-campus advertising.Methods: Subjects tasted 32 soups, with all possible combinations of four NaCl concentrations (0–150 mM), four glutamate levels (0–43 mM), and two glutamate types (MSG, CDG).Main outcome measures: Ratings of each soup on six scales (liking, flavour-intensity, familiarity, naturalness of taste, richness of taste, saltiness).Results: A 50 or 85 mM NaCl soup with added CDG or MSG is rated as high as, or higher than, a 150 mM NaCl soup free of added glutamate on five of the six scales (the exception being saltiness). CDG and MSG have equivalent effects.Conclusions: Addition of glutamate allows substantial reductions in Na content of soup, without significant deterioration of taste. CDG and MSG have equivalent effects, but use of CDG permits a greater reduction in Na intake.Sponsorship: We acknowledge the financial support of the International Glutamate Technical Committee (IGTC).

Urban‐rural differences in dietary habits and influences among Australian adolescents

Junior high school students (2,082) in Tasmania, Australia, were surveyed using a printed questionnaire. For 22 commonly‐used foods collectively, MANOVA indicated that rural students differed significantly from urban students in their consumption frequency for the foods, their perception of the usage of the foods by their parents and their friends, their liking for the foods and their perceptions of those foods’ healthfulness. Regression analyses for the 22 foods separately indicated that liking for a food and parental usage of it were generally significantly linked to the respondents frequency of using it; there were few urban‐rural differences in this pattern. A foods healthfulness (as perceived by the respondent) and friends’ usage of it were significantly linked to personal usage frequency only for a minority of foods; the regression analyses suggested that rural students gave less weight than urban students to health considerations and to perceived peer behavior in their food choices. These results suggest differences in food cognition between urban and rural adolescents.