Abstract The consumption of low-salt bread represents an
efficient way to improve public health by decreasing
cardiovascular health issues related to increased intakes of
sodium chloride (NaCl). The reduction of NaCl influences
the bread quality characteristics, in particular the shelf-life.
Calcium propionate (CP) is commonly used in bread as an
antifungal agent. Alternatively, sourdough can be used as a
natural preservative. This work addresses the feasibility of
NaCl reduction in wheat bread focussing on shelf-life and
the compensation using sourdough as well as chemical
preservatives. The impact of NaCl reduction and the addition
of preservative agents in conjunction with different NaCl
concentrations on the shelf-life of bread were tested under
‘environmental’ conditions in a bakery as well as using
challenge tests against selected fungi. The challenge tests were
performed using fungi commonly found in the bakery
environment such as Penicillium expansum, Fusarium
culmorum and Aspergillus niger. NaCl reduction decreased
the shelf-life by 1–2 days. The addition of
sourdough with antifungal activity prolonged the shelf-life to
12–14 days whereas the addition of 0.3 % calcium propionate
prolonged the shelf-life to 10–12 days only. The fungal
challenge tests revealed differences in the determined shelflife
between the different fungi based on their resistance.
Similar antifungal performance was observed in sourdough
breads and calcium propionate breads when tested against the
different indicator moulds. The findings of this study indicate
that addition of sourdough fermented using a specifically
selected antifungal Lactobacillus amylovorus DSM 19280
can replace the chemical preservative calcium propionate
addition and compensate for the reduced level and, therefore,
guarantee the product safety of low-salt bread.