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Peer-Review Record

Is a Consumer Perception of Salt Modification a Sensory or a Behavioural Phenomenon? Insights from a Bread Study

Foods 2020, 9(9), 1172; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9091172
by Aleš Kuhar 1,*, Mojca Korošec 1, Anja Bolha 1, Igor Pravst 2 and Hristo Hristov 2
Reviewer 1: Anonymous
Reviewer 2: Anonymous
Reviewer 3: Anonymous
Foods 2020, 9(9), 1172; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9091172
Submission received: 23 July 2020 / Revised: 13 August 2020 / Accepted: 17 August 2020 / Published: 25 August 2020
(This article belongs to the Section Sensory and Consumer Sciences)

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Thank you for the possibility to read and evaluate your paper. The article is focused on sensory perception of bread with different level of salt and shows very interesting outcomes.

The paper has a reasonable potential of interest for the readers of Foods. The content of this manuscript is in line with the editorial objectives of the review, since it contains specific topics relating to the consumer perception of salt in bread.

In my opinion authors should developed in depth discussion and conclusion.

More in detail:

Introduction is well-structured and objective are clearly defined and argued.

The methodology section is rigorous and very detailed, the method adopted fit with the data available and the objectives of the paper.

Results section is well organized and presented. Outcomes are clearly presented and debated.

Discussion should be improved. The literature review in terms of healthiness in this section is rather incomplete, I suggest to cite in the discussion also following interesting papers based on consumer perception towards salt-reduced bread:

Antúnez, L., Giménez, A., Alcaire, F., Vidal, L., & Ares, G. (2017). Consumer perception of salt-reduced breads: Comparison of single and two-bites evaluation. Food Research International, 100, 254-259.

Di Vita, G., D'amico, M., Lombardi, A., & Pecorino, B. (2016). Evaluating trends of low sodium content in food: The willingness to pay for salt-reduced bread, a case study. Agricultural Economics Review, 17(875-2017-1562), 82-99.

Dewettinck, K., Van Bockstaele, F., Kühne, B., Van de Walle, D., Courtens, T. M., Gellynck,X. 2008. Nutritional value of bread: Influence of processing, food interaction and consumer perception. Journal of Cereal Science, 48(2): 243-257.

Conclusions are incomplete, They are still lacking limitation of study, suggestions of further researches and implications, both for industry and policies in terms of product differentiation and healthy aspects. As a fact, potential health and/or policy implications and increasing competitiveness for producers could be expanded.


My overall evaluation of the paper is minor revisions

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 1 Comments

 Reviewer comment 1

  • Introduction is well-structured and objective are clearly defined and argued.
  • The methodology section is rigorous and very detailed, the method adopted fit with the data available and the objectives of the paper.
  • Results section is well organized and presented. Outcomes are clearly presented and debated.

Authors’ response 1

              Thank you very much.

 Reviewer comment 2

  • Discussion should be improved. The literature review in terms of healthiness in this section is rather incomplete, I suggest to cite in the discussion also following interesting papers based on consumer perception towards salt-reduced bread:
    • Antúnez, L., Giménez, A., Alcaire, F., Vidal, L., & Ares, G. (2017). Consumer perception of salt-reduced breads: Comparison of single and two-bites evaluation. Food Research International, 100, 254-259.
    • Di Vita, G., D'amico, M., Lombardi, A., & Pecorino, B. (2016). Evaluating trends of low sodium content in food: The willingness to pay for salt-reduced bread, a case study. Agricultural Economics Review, 17(875-2017-1562), 82-99.
    • Dewettinck, K., Van Bockstaele, F., Kühne, B., Van de Walle, D., Courtens, T. M., Gellynck,X. 2008. Nutritional value of bread: Influence of processing, food interaction and consumer perception. Journal of Cereal Science, 48(2): 243-257.

Authors’ response 2

  • Thank you for pointing out this interesting research papers. We have incorporated the suggested content to the discussion in the manuscript (lines: 466-470; 548-549; 572-576) and thus further explored this aspect in the paper.

Reviewer comment 3

  • Conclusions are incomplete, They are still lacking limitation of study, suggestions of further researches and implications, both for industry and policies in terms of product differentiation and healthy aspects. As a fact, potential health and/or policy implications and increasing competitiveness for producers could be expanded.

Authors’ response 3

  • We agree with the reviewer’s assessment and we are grateful for this comment. Accordingly, the limitation of the study, suggestions for further research and implications were strengthened in the manuscript in lines 622-629 in our concluding paragraph of the discussion as follows:
  • “… A further limitation of the study is also a focus on overall liking and saltines perception in bread, whereas reduction of salt clearly influences also other bread quality characteristics which are important for consumer acceptance. Therefore, further research is needed to analyse the effects of salt reduction on other flavour constituents, particularly for the multigrain breads. Better insight is needed for clear recommendations to the baking industry on how to retain the sensory characteristics of the salt reduced multigrain breads. And finally, a possible limitation of the study could also be that we did not explicitly evaluate some relevant physiological parameters of the consumers which could affect sensory evaluation and saltiness level perception (e.g. hunger, thirst, etc.). This would certainly improve the quality of the results.”
  • Further, we have reformulated the implications of the results in lines: 653-656 in our conclusions as follows:
  • “… Baking industry should pay attention to the consumers who perceive bread saltiness as non-optimal, their dietary habits and bread-purchasing behaviour in terms of product differentiation and communication of healthy aspects of reformulated products. For some of the producers, this might improve their market position and competitiveness.”

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

This study discloses the importance of bread matrix; and it did not affect the perception of saltiness intensity.

However, the acceptance of sensory evaluation of food includes taste, smell, color appearance, texture, and mouth-feel etc.

We found that this study only explores the influence and difference of salt reduction on bread preference. The impact of salt reduction on consumer sensory acceptance may not only include salty taste, but also include changes in texture and mouth-feel.

It is suggested to have additional discussion about the effect of salt reduction on the texture, mouth-feel or other available overall sensory quality of bread, so that the conclusion and relevant evidence in this paper will be more strong and certain.

I suggest author to have supplementary information as follows:

  1. Additional discussion about the effect of salt reduction on the texture, mouth-feel or other available overall sensory quality of bread.
  2. If no significant change or no effect on the texture, mouth-feel or other sensory quality after salt reduction in bread, please clarify or explain. It’s better to confirm that consumer perception of salt modification on bread is independent from other sensory quality.
  3. In Table 4, I suggest to round to the hundredth digit (2nd decimal place) for items of LL, BICLL, AICLL and G2.
  4. In Table 5, I suggest to round to the hundredth digit (2nd decimal place) for the item of perception of saltiness intensity (JAR) by clusters.
  5. In Table 5, I suggest to round to the hundredth digit (2nd decimal place) for the item Wald, and use scientific notation for all p-value data.

I understand that Slovenia is a country with very high salt intake, bread and bakery products are the key contribution foods. A national action plan are implementing in order to achieve a reduction of the salt intake with healthy food consumption. I support this paper with some revisions.

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 2 Comments

Reviewer comment 1

  • This study discloses the importance of bread matrix; and it did not affect the perception of saltiness intensity. However, the acceptance of sensory evaluation of food includes taste, smell, color appearance, texture, and mouth-feel etc. We found that this study only explores the influence and difference of salt reduction on bread preference. The impact of salt reduction on consumer sensory acceptance may not only include salty taste, but also include changes in texture and mouth-feel. It is suggested to have additional discussion about the effect of salt reduction on the texture, mouth-feel or other available overall sensory quality of bread, so that the conclusion and relevant evidence in this paper will be more strong and certain. I suggest author to have supplementary information as follows:

Additional discussion about the effect of salt reduction on the texture, mouth-feel or other available overall sensory quality of bread. If no significant change or no effect on the texture, mouth-feel or other sensory quality after salt reduction in bread, please clarify or explain. It’s better to confirm that consumer perception of salt modification on bread is independent from other sensory quality.

Authors’ response 1

  • We are grateful for this comment as it stresses a) the importance of understating complexity of consumer response in sensory evaluation and b) the role/function of salt in food production. It is correct that the salt reduction in bread may not only affect saltiness, but also texture, mouth-feel, colour (crust and crumb) and overall influence the production process. Accordingly, these points were strengthened in the manuscript in lines 450-455 of the discussion.
    “… Although salt is a minor component in bread formulations it has a critical and complex effect on the bread dough system. Salt toughens gluten and make dough more stable. It also affects the rate of fermentation, reduce the rate of gas production and thus significantly influences the bread-making process. However, from the perspective of our study one should not underestimate the effect of salt on other organoleptic properties, besides (salty) taste. Namely, salt has also an important impact on bread texture (mouth-feel), overall flavour and colour.”

 

  • We agree it would have been interesting to explore also the other aspect of rheological and organoleptic changes as a consequence of salt reduction in bread formulation and consumer acceptance. Accordingly, these issues were suggested for further research in the manuscript in lines 622-628 of our concluding paragraph of the discussion.

“… Further limitation of the study is also a focus on overall liking and saltines perception in breads, whereas reduction of salt clearly influences also other bread quality characteristics which are important for consumer acceptance. Therefore, further research is needed to analyse the effects of salt reduction on other flavour constituents, particularly for the multigrain breads.”

 

Reviewer comment 2

  • In Table 4, I suggest to round to the hundredth digit (2nd decimal place) for items of LL, BICLL, AICLL and G2.

Authors’ response 2

Addressed. Thank you.

Reviewer comment 3

  • In Table 5, I suggest to round to the hundredth digit (2nd decimal place) for the item of perception of saltiness intensity (JAR) by clusters.

Authors’ response 3

  • Thank you.

Reviewer comment 4

  • In Table 5, I suggest to round to the hundredth digit (2nd decimal place) for the item Wald, and use scientific notation for all p-value data.

Authors’ response 4

  • Thank you.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Peer review on Kuhar et al., (2020): “Is a consumer perception of salt modification a sensory or a behavioural phenomenon? Insights from a bread study.” Foods, 2020

This paper discusses effect of salt content on consumers' hedonic liking and perception of saltiness intensity in case of two market-leading bread types in Slovenia. Bread is a major contributor to salt intake and therefore targeted by health policies recommending salt reduction. But producers and regulators are often reluctant to reduce salt content due to fears of potential negative effects, like consumers’ hedonic liking and drops in sales. Results of this study reinforces the conclusion of earlier studies in other countries, that most of the consumers are not aware of the main sources of salt in their diets, nor did they recognize consumption of bread with reduced salt content as an important strategy for limiting dietary salt intake. Further government supported educational and information activities are needed to improve the level of consumers’ nutrition-related health literacy.

The major sources of dietary salt in Low- and Middle-Income Countries were breads, meat and meat products, bakery products, instant noodles, salted preserved foods, milk and dairy products, and condiments (Menyanu et al.,2019). The knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to dietary salt intake in high-income countries are low (Kovač – Blaznik, 2019). Some foods that people may eat several times a day, such as bread can add up to a lot of sodium over the course of a day, even though an individual serving may not be high in sodium.

 Major comments.

  1. The study used a quite big, convenience sample with improved composition, but people rarely eat bread on its own. We use butter, margarine, ham, tomato, paprika etc. with it, like a sandwich. These change the salt content and the taste. Also, the salty taste is felt different, when someone is thirsty, had a meal before, could eat a cake, etc., see Zverev, 2004; Schulkin, 2005. In some studies, there are some exclusion criteria, or special questioneer related to these. These should be mentioned among the limitations of the study.
  2. Health related behavior of people is affected by the family members, relatives, friends, schoolmates, etc., People tend to be more concerned about salt consumption, if they have a closed relative or friend suffering cardiovascular diseases. Doctors explain them the circumstances what to do and friends and relatives see the results of the illness. But, nonadherence to salt restriction appears to be a complex problem even in this case, because studies showed that even patients face multiple barriers when salt intake is restricted (Torigoe et al., 2019).
  3. On the 4th page (line: 571-574) the following is written: Also here, a significant difference was observed between the clusters, where the “Salt sensitive” subjects highly agree that limiting use of salt at the table is the most appropriate approach to reduce salt consumption in the population, and the level of agreement from the “Salt sensitive” cluster is statistically significantly lower. – Not “Salt adherent” is mentioned here?

Minor comments.

  1. Misperceptions about salt reduction (WHO, 29 April 2020):

     -      “On a hot and humid day when you sweat, you need more salt in the diet.” There is

              little salt lost through sweat so there is no need for extra salt even on a hot and humid   

              day, although it is important to drink a lot of water.

     -      “Sea salt is better than manufactured salt simply because it is natural.

              Regardless of the source of salt, it is the sodium in salt that causes bad health

              outcomes. Although sea salt is sometimes promoted as being healthier than table

              salt, both forms have the same sodium content (Zeratsky, 2009).

  1. Is this topic about salt consumption discussed in the media in Slovenia? How often it is mentioned in tv, radio and social media? Is there enough available and reliable information in Slovenian language on the internet?
  2. What is the opinion of the authors on the use and the discussion in the EU about Traffic Light and Nutri-score Labelling? Salt is involved in both. French, Belgian, Spanish, German and Dutch health authorities have recommended as well as the European Commission and the World Health Organization. Italy did not follow this trend. Coca-Cola Company uses the traffic light color scheme.

Another Slovenian study concluded, that the biggest reductions in salt consumption in the population could be achieved by comprehensive strategies involving population-wide policies (regulation, mandatory reformulation and food labelling) (Kovač – Blaznik, 2019).

  1. Also, is there a chance to add flavor without adding sodium on reasonable costs? I mean no-salt seasoning blends and herbs and spices instead of salt to add flavor to food. Using spice blends and herbs is a promising alternative to improve the quality of reduced salt food products (Kovač – Blaznik, 2019). In a study in China, subjects with a high spice preference had a lower salt intake and blood pressure than subjects who disliked spicy food. The enjoyment of spicy flavor enhanced salt sensitivity and reduced salt preference (Li et al., 2017).

There are already breads with added linseed, sunflower seed, sesame seed, and soybean pieces. Bread made with oats, whole wheat and oily seeds are on the rise. Fiber content and gut health offered strong selling points for bread in the UK in 2019 (Mintel, 2019).

  1. This study used a convenience sample, but GfK, Nielsen and other major multinational market research companies have detailed analysis of the bread market in Slovenia and Europe. It is just one more point to add salt content to these data-basses. They have long and widespread experience in these studies and can provide a lot of benefit to the following articles about this really important and interesting topic. I am sure that the leading bakery companies in Slovenia and involved in this study are in connection with these market research companies.

So, I recommend this paper to be accepted after major revision.

Questions.

  1. Is it compulsory to put the Nutrition Facts Label and the % Daily Value (%DV) on artisan products in Slovenia? Artisan products are important in bread a bakery category. Clear packaging is preferred, as it provides detailed information of the key ingredients and nutritional values (Global Market Insights, 2020).

Also, is fiber content involved in Nutrition Facts Label in Slovenia? Fiber content and gut health offered strong selling points for bread in the UK in 2019 (Mintel).

Is nutrition facts label information used in restaurants (like in McDonalds’) and in case of unpacked, fresh-made bakery products in retail? In Hungary Lidl used it, but they finished it.

  1. What is the market share of unsalted products in other traditionally salted categories, like peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, chips (like apple and vegetable chips), snacks, etc.?

References

Girgis S, Neal B, Prescott J, et al. (2003): A one-quarter reduction in the salt content

            of bread can be made without detection. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition,

            57:616-620.

Global Market Insights (2020): U.S. Retail Packaged Bread Market Size, Competitive

            Market Share & Forecast, 2019 – 2026. Report ID: GMI4487, Authors: Kiran

            Pulidindi, Soumalya Chakraborty, https://www.gminsights.com/industry-

            analysis/us-retail-packaged-bread-market

Kovač, B., Blaznik, U. (2019): Systematic Reduction of Excessive Salt Intake. Chapter,

            Salt in the Earth, IntechOpen, 1-16.

Kovač, B., Knific, M. (2017): The perception of low-salt bread among preschool

            children and the role of educational personnel in creating a positive attitude

            towards reformulated food. Slovenian Journal of Public Health, 56(1):39-46.

Li, Q., Cui, Y., Jin, R., et al. (2017): Enjoyment of Spicy Flavor Enhances Central Salty-Taste

            Perception and Reduces Salt Intake and Blood Pressure. Hypertension, 70(6):1291

            1299.

Menyanu, E., Russell, J., & Charlton, K. (2019). Dietary Sources of Salt in Low- and

            Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Literature Review. International

            Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(12), 2082. h

Mintel (2019): UK Bread market report. https://store.mintel.com/uk-bread-market

             Report

Schulkin, J. (2005): Sodium Hunger: The Search for a Salty Taste. Cambridge University

             Press; Revised edition, ISBN-10: 0521018420

Statista Research Department (2020): Bread and bakery products in Europe –

             Statistics and Facts. https://www.statista.com/topics/4090/bread-and-bakery

             products-in-europe/

Torigoe, K., Obata, Y., Morimoto, S., Torigoe, M., Oka, S., Uramatsu, T., Mukae, H., Nishino,

  1. (2019): Factors associated with gustatory threshold for salty taste in peritoneal

              dialysis patients. Renal Replacement Therapy, 5, 38.

Zeratsky, K. (2009): Is sea salt better for your health than table salt? Mayo Foundation

              for Medical Education and Research (Accessed 05,08 2020)

Zverev, Y.P. (2004): Effects of caloric deprivation and satiety on sensitivity of the gustatory

             system. BMC Neuroscience, 5, 5.

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 3 Comments

Reviewer comment 1

  • The study used a quite big, convenience sample with improved composition, but people rarely eat bread on its own. We use butter, margarine, ham, tomato, paprika etc. with it, like a sandwich. These change the salt content and the taste. Also, the salty taste is felt different, when someone is thirsty, had a meal before, could eat a cake, etc., see Zverev, 2004; Schulkin, 2005. In some studies, there are some exclusion criteria, or special questioneer related to these. These should be mentioned among the limitations of the study.

Authors’ response 1

  • This was resolved. Some additional references, including suggested one, were included and the manuscript was improved by a more thorough discussion. We also amended the limitations section as suggested by reviewer (lines 628-631).
  • “… And finally, a possible limitation of the study could also be that we did not explicitly evaluate some relevant physiological parameters (e.g. hunger, thirst) of the consumers which could affect sensory evaluation and saltiness level perception. This would certainly improve the quality of the results.”

Reviewer comment 2

  • Health-related behavior of people is affected by the family members, relatives, friends, schoolmates, etc., People tend to be more concerned about salt consumption if they have a closed relative or friend suffering cardiovascular diseases. Doctors explain to them the circumstances what to do and friends and relatives see the results of the illness. But, nonadherence to salt restriction appears to be a complex problem even in this case, because studies showed that even patients face multiple barriers when salt intake is restricted (Torigoe et al., 2019).

Authors’ response 2

We agree with the reviewer’s assessment and we are grateful for this comment which was used to improve the manuscript. We have incorporated the suggested content to the discussion in the manuscript in lines 587-590 and further explore this aspect in the paper. Additionally, besides the suggested paper (Torigoe et al., 2019) another reference was added to further discuss the issue: Trieu K, McMahon E, Santos JA, et al. Review of behaviour change interventions to reduce population salt intake. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2017;14(1):17. Published 2017 Feb 8. doi:10.1186/s12966-017-0467-1

Reviewer comment 3

  • On the 4th page (line: 571-574) the following is written: Also here, a significant difference was observed between the clusters, where the “Salt sensitive” subjects highly agree that limiting use of salt at the table is the most appropriate approach to reduce salt consumption in the population, and the level of agreement from the “Salt sensitive” cluster is statistically significantly lower. – Not “Salt adherent” is mentioned here?

Authors’ response 3

  • Thank you for pointing out this mistake. Resolved.

 Reviewer minor comments:

  1. Misperceptions about salt reduction (WHO, 29 April 2020):

 “On a hot and humid day when you sweat, you need more salt in the diet.” There is little salt lost through sweat so there is no need for extra salt even on a hot and humid  day, although it is important to drink a lot of water.  “Sea salt is better than manufactured salt simply because it is natural.” Regardless of the source of salt, it is the sodium in salt that causes bad health outcomes. Although sea salt is sometimes promoted as being healthier than table salt, both forms have the same sodium content (Zeratsky, 2009).

Authors’ response: Thank you for this comment. Certainly, scientifically correct information should be used in any public health intervention and information/promotion activities. Our paper stresses the importance of scientifically correct information in the introduction (lines 50-53).

  1. Is this topic about salt consumption discussed in the media in Slovenia? How often it is mentioned in tv, radio and social media? Is there enough available and reliable information in Slovenian language on the internet?

Authors’ response: In Slovenia, salt reduction programme is considered as one of the public-health priorities (National action plan 2010-2020, Ministry of Health of Republic of Slovenia) and therefore communicated in the public. Government support dissemination of the importance of salt reduction in the general public. Reliable information on this topic is readily available (i.e. on national nutrition portal: https://www.prehrana.si/sestavine-zivil/sol-in-natrij), but the topic is not often communicated in the media. Nevertheless, in our study 90% of the participants responded that “too much salt can be harmful to health”, indicating that majority of the population is well aware of the general salt-related health risks. This is noted in the discussion section.

  1. What is the opinion of the authors on the use and the discussion in the EU about Traffic Light and Nutri-score Labelling? Salt is involved in both. French, Belgian, Spanish, German and Dutch health authorities have recommended as well as the European Commission and the World Health Organization. Italy did not follow this trend. Coca-Cola Company uses the traffic light color scheme. Another Slovenian study concluded, that the biggest reductions in salt consumption in the population could be achieved by comprehensive strategies involving population-wide policies (regulation, mandatory reformulation and food labelling) (Kovač – Blaznik, 2019).

Authors’ response: In Slovenia vast majority of bread is sold as non-prepacked, therefore not subject to food labelling. This means that it is not expected that introducing (any kind of) front of package labelling schemes would have a major impact on the sale of bread. However, prepacked bread might be affected. We should note that some international food companies already introduced Nutri-Score labelling also on the Slovenian market, but not in the bread category. The relevance of this scheme for Slovenia is also subject to national discussions and research project. There are some recent studies which investigate challenges related to the introduction of Nutri-score to Slovenian market (https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/9/4/399). As suggested by the reviewer, we also amended in the discussion section that further achievements in salt reduction can be achieved only with a combination of multiple population-wide regulatory policies, focused into mandatory reformulation and food labelling.

  1. Also, is there a chance to add flavor without adding sodium on reasonable costs? I mean no-salt seasoning blends and herbs and spices instead of salt to add flavor to food. Using spice blends and herbs is a promising alternative to improve the quality of reduced salt food products (Kovač – Blaznik, 2019). In a study in China, subjects with a high spice preference had a lower salt intake and blood pressure than subjects who disliked spicy food. The enjoyment of spicy flavor enhanced salt sensitivity and reduced salt preference (Li et al., 2017). There are already breads with added linseed, sunflower seed, sesame seed, and soybean pieces. Bread made with oats, whole wheat and oily seeds are on the rise. Fiber content and gut health offered strong selling points for bread in the UK in 2019 (Mintel, 2019).

Authors’ response: Indeed, the use of spices and other food constituents enable the production of foods with lower bread content. While such breads would be of interests for health-conscious consumers, our study was focused on market-leading types of breads. As suggested, we amended the discussion section, noting alternative means of achieving low salt levels.

  1. This study used a convenience sample, but GfK, Nielsen and other major multinational market research companies have detailed analysis of the bread market in Slovenia and Europe. It is just one more point to add salt content to these data-basses. They have long and widespread experience in these studies and can provide a lot of benefit to the following articles about this really important and interesting topic. I am sure that the leading bakery companies in Slovenia and involved in this study are in connection with these market research companies.

Authors’ response: Thank you for this comment. We agree, sales data are very important when we are monitoring food reformulation changes. The leading bakeries in Slovenia are involved in the market data collecting panels of multinational research companies, and they use these market research results in preparing business strategies and monitoring the success of reformulated products.

Actually, market scanner data were used in some of our previous research (https://doi.org/10.3390/nu6093501), and also last national reformulation monitoring was conducted using sales data (https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9090952). The current study also benefits from these results. For the study described in our manuscript, we also used two market-leading types of bread, making it also very relevant for applied use.

Reviewer questions:

  1. Is it compulsory to put the Nutrition Facts Label and the % Daily Value (%DV) on artisan products in Slovenia? Artisan products are important in bread a bakery category. Clear packaging is preferred, as it provides detailed information of the key ingredients and nutritional values (Global Market Insights, 2020).

Authors’ response: In Slovenia, the food labelling is only applicable for processed prepared foods as a fundamental requirement on the EU market. Majority of bread in Slovenia is sold as non-prepacked, meaning that it is not labelled (around 70% of bread is sold as non-prepacked in pre-COVID 19 period; now the proportion of packed bread is increasing as a measure to prevent the spread of the virus). Consumers have a right to require for the information about the allergens at the place of sale, but nutritional information is not mandatory. However, for the majority of the leading bakeries, they are available on web pages, on a voluntary basis, or occasionally as an info-leaflet at the point of sale.

  1. Also, is fiber content involved in Nutrition Facts Label in Slovenia? Fiber content and gut health offered strong selling points for bread in the UK in 2019 (Mintel).

Authors’ response: Information of the fibre content can be provided on vouluntary basis. Exceptions are food labelled with fibre related nutrition or health claims (i.e. high in fibre), where the amount of fibre needs to be provided. And, again this only applies for prepacked foods.

  1. Is nutrition facts label information used in restaurants (like in McDonalds’) and in case of unpacked, fresh-made bakery products in retail? In Hungary Lidl used it, but they finished it.

Authors’ response: Providing nutrition composition for ready meals is voluntary. Some restaurant chains use that (McDonald's’), but it is not common. Fresh-made bakery products in retail are not subject to mandatory nutrition information labelling.

  1. What is the market share of unsalted products in other traditionally salted categories, like peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, chips (like apple and vegetable chips), snacks, etc.?

Authors’ response: Very interesting question. In our previous studies we have also investigated the proportion of foods with salt/sodium related claims and determined that most of such products were found in breakfast cereals category (7,6%). However, the used food categorisation system does not enable detailed insights for very specific food categories, as chips etc. Based on our subjective observation the prevalence of salt-reduced food products on the Slovenian retail shelf is increasing, however, the market share is probably still limited.

 Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

The author has responded to my questions in detail and has provided supplementary explanation.

The data in the relevant tables have been adjusted.

No further question.

Reviewer 3 Report

The authors made many relevant changes to the manuscript according to the reviewers' comments and suggestions. All comments have been considered. In the revised version of the manuscript, the Introduction and Discussion were more detailed. The literature citation seems now adequate. Also the English language was revised. Overall, the quality of the manuscript has been much improved.

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