Whether it's used to bring the baker's dough together just right, to add just a hint of flavor to a chef's top sirloin, or add the right amount of kick to a bartender's Salty Dog, people love salt.

But it turns out that some of us might love it a little too much.

A recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine about salt intake and health is getting a bit of attention. According to the study, even small reductions in salt intake could reduce heart disease and stroke by thousands of cases.

And with low salt diets and foods gaining in popularity, many wholesale food ingredients distributors and wholesale food providers might find that salt subsitutes are in greater demand. Most often made of potassium chloride, salt substitutes offer a similar flavor to salt without the same health concerns.

The largest sector in food preparations and marketing where a shift in consumer popularity is likely to be processed foods, where much of American salt intake originates.

This is because, besides being essential for many baked goods and just plain tasty in many meals, salt has been used as a food preservative for centuries. Historically salt has been used for mold prevention and antibacterial purposes and to slow the aging process in foods.

And today, our salt intake is heavily influenced by the use of sodium in spreads, processed meats, and canned goods. Wholesale salt prices aren't likely to see a change anytime soon, but for manufacturers that want to offer their consumers a variety of healthy alternatives, salt substitutes could be a smart idea.

Though we doubt that the "Potassium Chloride Dog" will be making appearances at the local bar anytime soon.

It's a typical romance story for Valentine's Day, and it even comes with chocolate.

After months of hemming and hawing, food giant Kraft Foods has successfully won over Cadbury, purchasing the 190-year-old British confectionary company for almost $19 billion dollars.

This is quite a change from Cadbury's original rejection of Kraft Foods - apparently they were playing hard to get.

It must have worked, since Kraft Foods had originally offered Cadbury only $16 billion back in November of 2009. This original offer was immediately rejected as an undervaluation of a company with worldwide brand recognition.

Not to be deterred, the persistent Kraft company then launched a hostile bid for Cadbury, claiming that it wasn't worth that much and shouldn't be so coy anyway. Their next offer was actually valued at less than the first, based on the loss of value seen in Kraft Foods stock price from September to November of 2009.

But Cadbury wasn't fond of being bullied and stood its ground; Kraft worked very hard to make a deal possible.

In fact, Kraft sold an American pizza unit to Nestle for $3.7 billion earlier this month, and borrowed another $11 billion to finance the takeover. Cadbury was pleased with the new offer, and promised to be worth every penny.

Robert Carr, Chairman of Cadbury, went on to say that the offer represents a good value for Cadbury shareholders, that Kraft Foods had made a powerful commitment [to] our heritage [and] values.

Unfortunately, not everyone sees this as happily-ever-after. British trade groups and organizations have been protesting the acquisition of Cadbury by an American wholesale food distribution company based on their concerns that Cadbury makes up a significant portion of the British economy.

All-in-all, it seems this is unlikely to have a significant effect on things like wholesale sugar prices because the companies are already such large consumers of food ingredients, and their demand isn't expected to change.

How the takeover will play out in the international marketplace has yet to be seen. After all, these celebrity mergers can be very unpredictable, and who knows how long the romance can last?

Could there be a sequel? If so, we'll bring the chocolate.