Ingredients in Low-Fat Spreads

The effect of sodium caseinate, alone (Hermansson, 1975), and with starch (Platt, 1988) or NaCl (Hayes and Muller, 1961 Hermansson, 1975), on the viscosity of an aqueous system is well documented in the literature but 

Aqueous phase viscosity parameters and percentage variance 

Ingredient Low High Significance Low High Significance s.s %/Total s.s1 

NS = not significant LSDto.ooi = least significant difference (standard error of difference x Student s test value) at the 0.001 level = significant at the 0.001 level 

The addition of NaCl to the aqueous phase is mainly for organoleptic reasons but its effect on caseinate must not be overlooked. Increasing the concentration of NaCl increases the ionic strength without the complications of the strong binding phenomena found with divalent cations. Large changes in the concentration of the univalent cations and their associated anion have a number of important effects on the viscosity of the aqueous phase (Table 9.3) and the stability of the emulsion. The observed small decrease in pH and the increased viscosity of the aqueous system may be related directly. 

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