KIMBERLI PAULINE BERWIG

Título da Dissertação: REDUÇÃO DE SÓDIO EM BISCOITOS PELO USO DE MULTICAMADAS EM IMPRESSORA 3D PROMOVENDO ALTERAÇÃO NA PERCEPÇÃO DE SALINIDADE DEVIDO A DISTRIBUIÇÃO NÃO HOMOGÊNEA DE SAL

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Antonio Roberto Giriboni Monteiro

Data da Defesa:28/02/2020

Introduction: In recent years there has been an increase in the development of chronic diseases in the world population in general, associated with unhealthy habits, among them the excessive consumption of sodium far above that recommended by the World Health Organization. The reduction of sodium is a great challenge for the food industries, because of the other functions that salt can have, besides just conferring a salty taste to the products. As alternatives to sodium reduction, several studies have proposed substituting salt with other substances or ingredients, but one theory that has been advocated is the non-homogeneous distribution as a way to alter consumers' perception of salty taste. As an alternative to the heterogeneous distribution of salt in foods, it is possible to think of the 3D printing technique, a recent technology that molds foods layer by layer, making it possible to intertwine different layers of formulations, and it is also possible to work with different textures in foods and add ingredients that are more nutritious.
Aims: To evaluate the effect of non-homogeneous salt distribution through different layers in 3D printed biscuits, verifying a possible reduction of sodium content. Materials and Methods: Three samples of biscuits printed in 3D were prepared: one control sample (C), and two samples with 25% salt reduction, one of them with homogeneous salt distribution (75H) and the other with heterogeneous salt distribution (75NH). The three samples were characterized as to centesimal composition, sodium content, texture, color, water activity, fracture microscopy and sensory analysis was performed to verify the acceptance and perception of trained consumers.
Results and Discussion: The three samples differed in their formulation only with respect to the amount of salt added and their form of distribution, so, as expected, they did not differ significantly with respect to their fiber, protein, lipid and carbohydrate contents. Similarly, the ash content and color of the biscuits did not differ significantly. It was found that as the salt content was decreased, lower values of humidity and water activity were obtained. Evaluating sensorially the two samples with sodium reduction in relation to the control, it was noticed that the tasters had a similar perception both for the case of homogeneous distribution and for the heterogeneous distribution, evaluating both samples on average as "slightly less salty than the control/saline equal to the control". This shows that the tasters have not noticed the proposed reduction. It is noticeable that the samples with reduced sodium content showed higher firmness values, i.e., greater is the force required to compress the food between the teeth and, with respect to fractureability, there was no direct relationship with the difference in the formulation of biscuits. The lower moisture content in samples with salt reduction may have been an influencing factor in texture evaluation. The results of fracture microscopy showed no differences between the samples.
Conclusions: Based on the theory of non-homogeneous salt distribution for the reduction of sodium in foods, for the first time the 3D printing technique was used to try to cause this change in consumers' perception of salinity. This technology is not widely spread in the food industries so far, but it is very promising, mainly by shaping food layer by layer and allowing for nonhomogeneous distribution without many adjustments, as well as the replacement of ingredients easily. The tasters evaluated did not notice any significant reduction of sodium in the biscuits and perhaps with untrained tasters the difference between the samples with homogeneous and non-homogeneous distribution would have been noticed.
Keywords: salt reduction, food printing, layers, salt intensity, 3D printing

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