Amount of baking soda and salt in bakeries of Mehrdasht city (Najafabad) during 2009-10

Bread is a valuable source of proteins, minerals and calories. Baking soda prevents the absorption of bread and more salt used in the production of bread causes different diseases. This study aimed to determine the amount of soda and salt used in bakeries of Mehrdasht. This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 50 bakeries of Mehrdasht city during 2009-10. A total number of 400 samples were randomly collected from all bakeries in four steps (two loaves from first batch). The measurement of PH and salt was done in accordance with the standard method of Institute of Standard and Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI, 1999). The PH less than 6.2 was seen in 91.5% of samples and the most PH values above 6.2 were in Lavash bread (12.5%). In 64.5% of samples, the amount of salt was more than the standard. A significant difference was seen between the amount of baking soda and the season while no significant difference was seen between the type of bread and the salt consumption (P=0.042). The amount of baking soda used in the bakeries of this city is not high; either bakers had no enough knowledge about the amount of salt used for production of bread or had more other reasons to use more or less salt than the standard. Therefore, drastic measures to control the amounts of baking soda and salt in bakeries are recommended.