Reducing sodium chloride in fermented sausage: effect of salt substitutes (potassium chloride and calcium chloride) on sensory and biochemical reactions

Abstract

Public health and regulatory agencies have recommended to reduce sodium chloride intake in the diet, currently exceeding 5g/day to decrease some chronic diseases, especially hypertension. Among the different categories of processed foods, salt reduction in meat products fermented, constitutes one of the big challenge. Sodium chloride has many functions in meat products processing, such as the solubilization of myofibrillar proteins, reduction of water activity, microbiological stability and contributes significantly to improve the sensory characteristics of aroma, flavor and texture. The objective of this work is to study the effect of reducting sodium chloride and its partial substitution by potassium chloride and calcium on the sensory and biochemical reactions in salami. The reactions of lipolysis will be conducted through analysis of free fatty acids, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and volatile compounds. The study of proteolysis will be assessed by the determination of free amino acids and evaluating the degree of denaturation of protein by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, monitored along fermentation time of sausages. Sensory evaluation will be performed by quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) and a consumer study shall be applied at the end of processing.The safety of salami will be determined by microbiological analyzes before each sensory analysis. At the end of this study, we intend to recommend consistent technological strategies to reduce sodium chloride in salami with sensorial, physico - chemical and microbiological quality. (AU)