By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-13 11:14:45 | Updated at 2025-01-13 17:00:13
5 hours ago
Could Hongkongers accept their dim sum with less salt?
The city’s food safety authority has said the makers of the much-loved Hong Kong cuisine can reduce salt levels, after conducting a study that found that most consumers cannot taste the difference if dim sum contains lower sodium content.
On Monday, the Centre for Food Safety revealed that a 10 to 20 per cent reduction in sodium content in dim sum would not result in perceptible sensory differences among consumers.
It followed concerns raised by some food trade members regarding reluctance among consumers to accept less salty products, after the centre advised them to modify preparation methods and ingredient usage in 2022.
“The result reflects the feasibility for the trade to reduce the sodium content in dim sum foods through moderate formulations,” said Tony Chow Chor-yiu, the principal medical officer of Risk Assessment and Communication at the Centre for Food Safety.
During March and April last year, the Centre asked 72 people to try shrimp siu mai and steamed pork ribs with black bean sauce. Each participant was provided with a mix of regular samples and others with reduced salt.
