Optimization of salt morphology and oral perception of salt with CFD and CFD- DEM techniques

利用 CFD 和 CFD-DEM 技术优化盐形态和盐的口腔感知

• 批准号: 2880707
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Edinburgh
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2880707
• 关键词: Optimization; salt; morphology; oral; perception

High sodium consumption is one of the major factors in increasing the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults should not consume more than 5 g/day NaCl [1]. However, in the US, UK, and Asian countries, the average intake of salt is 12, 8.8, and 9.4 g/day, respectively [2]. Salt is largely obtained from processed foods (75%), and decreasing the amount of NaCl in these products is an effective way to improve public health. Nevertheless, reducing NaCl content because of its role in controlling fermentation rate, preservative properties, and adding flavour is difficult [3]. In snacks and other processed foods, salt enhances the taste, and removing salt will change consumer perception and acceptance which should be considered in any salt reduction strategy.Direct reduction will affect the saltiness perception among consumers and, in the long run, there is a possibility that they will choose alternative products with higher salt content or add salt to their favourite product themselves [4]. Thus, food industries seek strategies that give the same saltiness perception to consumers with a lower amount of salt such as, salt substitution and modification of salt particles to increase sodium availability and dissolution rate in saliva. It may also bepossible to alter the taste preference of consumers by gradually reducing the sodium content of all food products which is not feasible and is not a timely solution for an ongoing threat to the public health. Recently, some replacers like potassium chloride are used in order to substitute sodium in salt [2]. However, due to the undesirable metallic and bitter flavour this replacement has some limitations.A better way of reducing the salt content of the product without compromising the taste is to design optimized salt particles that will be perceived better as a result of faster dissolution and absorption by the receptors. Salt crystals with higher surface area dissolve faster and lead to higher saltiness perception. Therefore, crystals with a smaller size or hollow structure are preferred. Furthermore, non-cubic and agglomerated crystals dissolve faster and internal cracks and cavities allow crystal disintegration in saliva [1]. Hurst et al. [5] tested different salt morphologies and SODA-LO salt with fine particles, soft pseudospherical structure with internal voids and higher surface area had the highest dissolution rate and lower time to be perceived by consumers. Rios-Mera et al. [6] and Galvao et al. [7] used micronized salt crystals in turkey ham and burgers, respectively and concluded that the salt consumption can be reduced by up to 30% without compromising the taste. Freire et al. [8] showed that for shoestring potato this can be reached up to 50% by using smaller salt crystals.Chokumnoyporn et al. [9] and Moncada et al. [10] obtained the same result for roasted peanuts and cheese crackers, respectively. Therefore, designing new salt particles with maximum dissolution rate and lower intake is of paramount importance.In this project, we aim to design optimised salt grains through high fidelity computer simulations. First, we will start by simulating the dissolution of salt particles with different morphologies. At this stage dissolution curves can be obtained using CFD simulation and optimized particles that have maximum absorption and higher transport of ions to the receptors will be found. Then, more complicated models will be added to model flow patterns and the static geometry of the oral cavity.

高钠摄入量是增加高血压和心血管疾病风险的主要因素之一。世界卫生组织（WHO）建议成年人每天摄入的氯化钠不应超过5克[1]。然而，在美国，英国和亚洲国家，盐的平均摄入量分别为12，8.8和9.4克/天[2]。盐主要来自加工食品（75%），减少这些产品中的NaCl含量是改善公众健康的有效方法。然而，由于NaCl在控制发酵速率、防腐性能和增加风味方面的作用，降低NaCl含量是困难的[3]。在零食和其他加工食品中，盐可以增强味道，而去除盐会改变消费者的感知和接受程度，这是任何减盐策略都应该考虑的。直接减少盐会影响消费者对咸味的感知，从长远来看，他们有可能会选择含盐量更高的替代产品，或者自己在最喜欢的产品中添加盐[4]。因此，食品工业寻求用较低量的盐给予消费者相同的咸味感知的策略，例如盐替代和盐颗粒的改性以增加钠的利用率和在唾液中的溶解速率。通过逐步降低所有食品的钠含量来改变消费者的口味偏好也是可能的，但这并不可行，也不是对公众健康持续威胁的及时解决方案。最近，一些类似氯化钾的化合物被用来代替盐中的钠[2]。然而，由于不希望的金属味和苦味，这种替代品有一些限制。减少产品的盐含量而不损害味道的更好方法是设计优化的盐颗粒，由于更快的溶解和受体的吸收，这些盐颗粒将被更好地感知。具有较高表面积的盐晶体溶解得更快，并导致更高的咸度感知。因此，优选具有较小尺寸或中空结构的晶体。此外，非立方体和团聚晶体溶解更快，内部裂纹和空腔允许晶体在唾液中崩解[1]。Hurst等人[5]测试了不同的盐形态，具有细颗粒、具有内部空隙的软假球形结构和较高表面积的SODA-LO盐具有最高的溶解速率和较短的消费者感知时间。Rios-Mera等人[6]和Galvao等人[7]分别在火鸡火腿和汉堡中使用微粉化盐晶体，并得出结论，盐的消耗量可以减少高达30%而不会影响味道。Freire等人[8]表明，对于细线马铃薯，通过使用较小的盐晶体可以达到50%。Chokumnoyporn等人[9]和Moncada等人[10]分别对烤花生和奶酪饼干获得了相同的结果。因此，设计具有最大溶解速率和更低摄入量的新盐颗粒至关重要。在本项目中，我们的目标是通过高保真计算机模拟设计优化的盐颗粒。首先，我们将从模拟具有不同形态的盐颗粒的溶解开始。在这个阶段，可以使用CFD模拟获得溶解曲线，并找到具有最大吸收和更高离子传输到受体的优化颗粒。然后，将添加更复杂的模型来模拟流动模式和口腔的静态几何形状。