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. 2023 Aug 5;12(15):2962. doi: 10.3390/foods12152962

Table 2.

Approaches, tools, and implications in reducing or replacing salts in meat products.

Product Approach Tool Implications Reference
Harbin dry Sausage Salt mixtures SS1: 70% NaCl and 30% KCl;
SS2: 70% NaCl, 20% KCl, 4% Lys,
1% alanine 0.5% citric acid,
1% Calactat, and 3.5% maltodextrin		 Higher levels of methyl ketones, methyl and ethyl esters, methyl-branched aldehydes, and alcohols (70% NaCl, 20% KCl);
technological properties unchanged.		 [91]
Ham Salt substitutes: reducing salt from 2.50% to 1.25%;
Same + 0.2 Lys; same + 0.4 Lys; same + 0.6% Lys; same + 0.8% Lys		 Increased cooking and centrifugation losses.
Cooking loss tended to be reduced with increasing levels of Lys.
Decrease in hardness, springiness, and chewiness.
Improved the WHC and textural properties; improved the sensory scores for mouth-feel, appearance, taste, and global acceptance. Further impaired these attributes.		 [86]
Dry-cured loin Salt substitute: 0.2–0.4% of L-Lys; 0.05–0.4% of L-His Delayed lipid oxidation, produced a reduction in sodium content; promoted physicochemical properties. [82]
Bologna-type sausages Salt substitutes: replacement of 60% NaCl by KCl;
same + Arg and His alone or in combination		 Formation of biogenic amines.
Did not affect the color parameters.
Arg and His were effective in reducing the defects caused by the addition of KCl.
Emulsion stability, texture profile, and sensory quality were impaired by the salt substitution.		 [22]
Jerked beef Replacement of (50%) NaCl by 50% KCl (F1), 50% CaCl2 (F2), and a blend containing 25% KCl and 25% CaCl2 CaCl2 blends resulted in final product with bitter taste and rancid aroma and higher SF e TBARS;
reduced sodium.		 [72]
Dry-cured ham Processing technology: high pressure application 500 MPa at 3ºC Decrease softness in muscles. [77]
Cooked ham Processing technology: high pressure application NaCl content (0, 0.95, 1.33, and 1.90%), phosphate content (0 and 0.25%) and the use of high-pressure processing (100, 300, 600 MPa) More efforts are needed to understand the feasible levels of NaCl, phosphates, and specific HP treatments to apply in commercial scenarios.
HPP at 100 MPa after tumbling was beneficial; salt reduction up to 1.1% NaCl was possible by the salt replacement with KCl (0.2%) in combination with the HP treatment.		 [81]
Dry-cured pork bellies Natural salty taste through sodium reduction BC 100% NaCl
BK had 50% of NaCl and 50% of KCl;
BG had 90% of NaCl and 10% of GP.		 BG in dry-cured pork bellies did not affect weight loss, aW, or pH. The sensory evaluation revealed differences in appearance, taste, and flavor among treatments, but did not indicate any negative effects of BG in the product attributes. [92]
Cecina Salt substitutes 50% NaCl; 50% KCl;
45% NaCl, 25% KCL; 20% CaCl2; 10% MgCl2 		Non-significant differences in hardness.
CaCl2 MgCl2 increased luminosity.
Increased lipid oxidation and decreased redness (CaCl2 and MgCl2).		 [93]
Lacón Salt substitutes 50% NaCl; 50% KCl;
45% NaCl, 25% KCL; 20% CaCl2; 10% MgCl2
30% NaCl, 50% KCL; 15% CaCl2; 5% MgCl2 		50% NaCl; 50% KCl; and 30% NaCl, 50% KCl;
15% CaCl2; 5% MgCl2—lowest oxidation levels;
45% NaCl, 25% KCL;20% CaCl2; 10% MgCl2—highest degree of oxidation		 [94]
Chicken sausage Winter mushrooms (Flammulina velutipes) powder (WMP) as salt substitute
  • (1)

    positive control: 3 g/kg sodium pyrophosphate;

  • (2)

    negative control: no sodium pyrophosphate nor WMP;

  • (3)

    WMP 0.5: 5 g/kg of WMP;

  • (4)

    WMP 1.0: 10 g/kg of WMP

 Increased meat batter pH, reduction in jelly proportion and melted fat exuded.
Texture softened. Lipid oxidation inhibited by WMP.
No negative effects on color and sensory properties.		 [95]
Chicken nuggets NaCl substituted with CaCl2 Control (1.5 g NaCl/100 g) + 3 treatments with CaCl2 substituting 25, 50, 75% of NaCl Similar sensory acceptance (texture, flavor and overall quality) between the control and 75% sodium reduction; decrease in salty taste in the just-about-right scale test. [96]
Chicken nuggets Salt replacement
Added chickpea hull flour
  • 1.

    Low salt (replacement 40% common salt)

Low salt with chickpea hull flour 		Affects appearance and flavor (1).
Increased dietary fiber while decreased total cholesterol content (2).		 [97]
Salt-baked-chicken NaCl substituted with low sodium mixture (LS) Control: 100% NaCl
  • 2.

    LS: 52% NaCl + 30% KCl + 8% calcium lactate + 10% Yeast extract

 Positive effect on taste and volatile flavor. [98]

WHC—water-holding capacity; Arg—arginine; His—histidine; Lys—lysine; HP—high pressure; BC—belly control; BK—belly with NaCl and KCl; BG—belly with NaCl and GP; GP—glasswort powder; KCl—potassium chloride. LS—NaCl + KCl + Calcium lactate + Yeast extract.