Evaluation of pH and Common Salt Content in Bread Samples Produced in Mashhad, Iran

Background: Salt content and pH degree are the quality indicators of bread which their unauthorized levels may have harmful effects on body health. Accordingly, this survey was carried out to evaluate pH and salt contents in bread samples produced in Mashhad, Iran. Methods: Totally 708 bread samples (340 loaves of Lavash, 183 loaves of Taftun, 139 loaves of Barbari and 46 loaves of Sangak bread samples) were provided randomly from different bakeries of Mashhad, Iran during 2015. Levels of pH and salt in baked bread were determined according to Iranian national standards. Data were analyzed using SPSS, Inc., Chicago, USA version16.0. Results: Among 708 samples, mean salt level in different bread samples was 1.22±0.09% which 0.1% samples contained higher salt content than acceptable limit of ≤1.8%. There were no significant differences between content of salt as well as pH among various types of bread (p>0.05). The lowest and highest salt concentration were found in Taftoon (1.21±0.08%) and Sangak (1.25±0.2%), respectively. Out of the total samples, 10.6% of them had pH≥6 which were higher than the standard limit. The mean level of pH in total samples was 5.51±0.45. Lavash (5.49±0.46) and Sangak (5.61±0.51) bread had the lowest and highest pH degree, respectively with no significant difference (p>0.05). Conclusion: This survey revealed that there were yet some local bakeries in Iran that produced different kinds of bread with unacceptable levels of salt and baking soda. So, it seems crucial for continual supervision and monitoring in the bakeries of this area as well as training bakers not to use unacceptable additives.