In a bid to make truly healthy, tasty bread, a group of Portuguese researchers have come up with a recipe that calls for no salt, using algae instead as a taste enhancer.
The project was developed by the Marine Resources Research Group (GIRM) from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria and is now being supported by the Mais Centro programme and the borough council of Peniche.
The bread, named ‘Pão D’Algas’, is already being sold by bread company Calé in the stores it owns in Peniche and Caldas da Rainha, but the long-term goal is to expand to the rest of the country.
“The idea came when we decided to find new ways to use sea algae,” Susana Mendes, the coordinator of the project, told online news portal Boas Notícias.
She added that the algae bread can be a good alternative for people who are looking to cut down on salt as it is “just as tasty” and is a “good antioxidant”.
According to i newspaper, excessive salt consumption is one of the main causes behind the Portuguese problem of many people with high blood pressure.
Data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that Portuguese people on average consume twice the recommended intake of salt.
