Although salt removal and salt replacement were the majority of included studies, future research would benefit from combining methods from other categories while investigating the impact on sensory characteristics, technological aspects, and consumer perception of the strategy. Sodium reduction methods were categorized as either salt removal, salt replacement, flavor modification, functional modification, or physical modification. Data extracted included details such as analytical methods, broad and specific treatment categories, significant outcomes, and limitations among other material. Two‐hundred and seventy‐seven primary studies, 27 literature reviews, 10 book chapters, and 143 patents were selected for inclusion. Literature was obtained through Scopus, PubMed, EBSCOhost, and ScienceDirect databases, whereas patents were obtained through US Patent Trademark Office, Google Patents, and PATENTSCOPE databases. Only those published in English and since 1970 were included. Studies that evaluate and report on the effectiveness of a sodium reduction strategy relevant to food and included outcomes detailing how the strategies were received by human subjects using sensory data are included, as well as book chapters, literature reviews, and patents focusing on sodium reduction strategies. The aim of this scoping review was to establish what sodium reduction strategies are effective in maintaining acceptable sensory qualities for various food industry applications. It has been suggested that reducing sodium in the food supply may be the most appropriate solution. In response to health concerns generated by increased sodium intake, many new approaches have been studied to reduce the sodium content in processed food. We suggest that conducting all demonstrated techniques in a single testing session gives a more expansive view of rejection thresholds while requiring minimal additional resources. All thresholds were investigated separately for color, flavor, texture and overall perception, elucidating differential sensorial effects of our novel ingredient on the food matrix. These new methods provide more realistic interpretations of rejection-type thresholds based on user-defined allowable rejection levels, or "rejection tolerance" (for RTT), and a model-derived stimulus range (RR) to capture the rejection level of interest while providing flexibility for product formulation. We also proposed two new concepts: a rejection tolerance threshold (RTT) and an associated rejection range (RR), based on a binomial acceptability question and a probit regression model. By substituting cricket powder for whole-wheat flour in snack crackers (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%), we proposed modifications to two existing threshold methodologies: a modified consumer rejection threshold (M-CRT) using a 2-alternative choice (2-AC) preference test with "no preference" option and a modified hedonic rejection threshold (M-HRT) based on less-than-neutral hedonic scores according to a one-sample t-test. Recently, sensory threshold concepts have been expanded to include affective perceptions of foods and beverages, especially measures of product rejection however, each threshold interpretation depends largely on the methodology employed.
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It was also found that by adding 0.96% garlic powder it is possible to reduce the sodium content from 0.827% to 0.3707% and improve the sensory acceptance of the product. In addition, a new sensory threshold is proposed, the favored acceptance threshold (FAT), defined as the stimulus intensity at which significant improvement in sensory acceptance of the product begins to occur. It was found that by adding 0.96% garlic powder only to reduce the hamburger sodium concentration from 0.827% to 0.2504%, sensory acceptance of the product began to deteriorate and when adding 0.9907% garlic powder, only for reducing the sodium content from 0.827% to 0.1319%, sensory rejection of the hamburger begins to occur. For this purpose, the central composite rotatable design was used, with response surface graphs, obtaining the equations that allow for calculating the different intensity combinations of the two stimuli that result in the beginning of compromised acceptance (CAT) and the beginning of sensory rejection (HRT) of the product. The objective of this study was to propose a new methodology, the Hedonic Thresholds Methodology Varying Two Stimuli (HTM2s), which allows for determining the compromised acceptance threshold and the hedonic rejection threshold by simultaneously varying the intensities of two stimuli in a food. However, at present it is only possible to determine sensory thresholds by varying just one stimulus at a time. In several situations it is desired to simultaneously alter the intensities of two food stimuli without affecting acceptance or causing sensory rejection.