Cargill Salt announced that it is opening a new potassium chloride production facility in Watkin’s Glen, N.Y., in late 2017.

The new potassium chloride investment was driven by food customers’ growing need for the ingredient. Cargill Salt will be able to supply potassium chloride to customers seeking to reduce the amount of sodium in their products. Potassium chloride can help enable sodium reduction of as much as 50% in a wide range of applications, including baked goods, soups, ready-to-eat meals, snacks and sauces.

“Potassium chloride can help bakeries, food processors and foodservice operators dramatically reduce the amount of sodium in their products while still meeting consumers’ taste and appearance expectations,” said John O’Dwyer, food product line manager for Cargill Salt.

Cargill’s investment comes as the U.S. Food & Drug Administration continues to recommend lower levels of sodium in the nation’s commercially processed, packaged and prepared foods. According to Innova Insights, there were more than 1,100 product launches for foods positioned as lower sodium in the U.S. in 2016.

“We have provided potassium chloride to our food customers for a long time,” O’Dwyer said. “However, as demand continues to grow, we needed to upgrade our potassium chloride portfolio and capacity to provide the supply our customers need.”

Sodium chloride (salt) plays a critical role in food. Beyond flavor, it affects yeast and gluten development, texture, appearance and shelf life. Potassium chloride gives food manufacturers an ingredient that delivers all of those functional benefits while also allowing consumers to eat the products they enjoy with up to half the amount of salt.

Because it mirrors the function and flavor of salt, potassium chloride is easy to formulate into existing product lines, according to Cargill.

Cargill Salt’s potassium chloride product offerings include: Potassium Pro Potassium Chloride, FlakeSelect Potassium Chloride (potassium chloride and salt) and FlakeSelect Potassium Chloride/Sea Salt.