Editing Potassium chloride (section)

===Culinary use===

Potassium chloride can be used as a [[salt substitute]] for [[food]], but because not everyone likes its [[Flavor (taste)|flavor]], it is often mixed with ordinary [[table salt]] (sodium chloride) to improve the [[taste]], to form [[low sodium salt]]. The addition of 1 ppm of [[thaumatin]] considerably reduces this bitterness.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Lorient D, Linden G |title=New ingredients in food processing: biochemistry and agriculture |url=https://archive.org/details/newingredientsfo00lind |url-access=limited |publisher=CRC Press |location=Boca Raton |year=1999 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newingredientsfo00lind/page/n373 357] |isbn=978-1-85573-443-2 |quote=... in dietary food containing potassium chloride, thaumatin added in the ratio of 1 ppm considerably reduces the sensation of bitterness. ... }}</ref>  Complaints of bitterness or a chemical or metallic taste are also reported with potassium chloride used in food.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Sinopoli DA, Lawless HT | title = Taste properties of potassium chloride alone and in mixtures with sodium chloride using a check-all-that-apply method | journal = Journal of Food Science | volume = 77 | issue = 9 | pages = S319–S322 | date = September 2012 | pmid = 22901084 | doi = 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2012.02862.x }}</ref>

The [[World Health Organization]] guideline ''Use of lower-sodium salt substitutes'' strongly recommends reducing sodium intake to less than 2 g/day and conditionally recommends replacing regular table salt with lower-sodium salt substitutes that contain potassium.  This recommendation is intended for adults (not pregnant women or children) in general populations, excluding individuals with kidney impairments or with other circumstances or conditions that might compromise potassium excretion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Overview of the WHO guideline on lower-sodium salt substitutes |url=https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/nutrition-and-food-safety/events/2025/launch-of-lsss-guideline-presentation-1-overview.pdf |first=Rain |last=Yamamoto |date=27 January 2025 |access-date=31 January 2025 |publisher=World Health Organization }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Use of lower-sodium salt substitutes: WHO guideline |url=https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240105591 |date=27 January 2025 |access-date=31 January 2025 |publisher=World Health Organization }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Use of lower-sodium salt substitutes: WHO guideline |url=https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/380227/9789240105591-eng.pdf?sequence=1 |date=27 January 2025 |access-date=31 January 2025 |publisher=World Health Organization }}</ref>