In a bid to further reduce salt levels in bread, the food industry is working with Nottingham University and Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association on a Food Standards Agency (FSA) research project.

The project looks at how salt affects the handling of dough in the bakery and the structure of the baked product.

Industry giants Allied Bakeries, Warburtons and Premier Foods are all involved in the project.

Initially, the FSA simply told bakers to reduce salt. However, reducing the amount of salt in dough is a major problem for bakers, said Ken Johnston, science director of the Food Processing Knowledge Transfer Network, who is compiling the research programme.

Reducing salt makes bread less tolerant of changes in the bakery operation, which increases the risk of poor quality bread and results in more waste, said Johnston.

"We're looking at how salt affects various components of dough - the protein, starch and liquid phases. The research will be lab-based, but processing conditions will be taken into account," he said.

The project had to come up with a solution that would meet consumer expectations, he said. "The Mediterranean has a low-salt bread, but it is a different product to that which UK consumers would see as bread."

The researchers will be looking specifically at premium quality white bread and aim to complete the project this summer.