Free-sodium salts mixture and AlgySalt® use as NaCl substitutes in fresh and cooked meat products intended for the hypertensive population

This work aims at reducing the use of added NaCl in processed meat products because of its negative effects on hypertensive population by replacing it by sodium-free salts mixture (SM: KCl, MgCl and CaCl) in fresh and cooked sausages. The technological, sensory, and microbiological effects of SM were compared with a commercial replacer based on seaweed extracts (AlgySalt®). A total substitution of NaCl with the latter and a partial one with SM (80% and 50%) were studied in cooked sausages and a total NaCl substitution with both substitutes was performed in fresh sausages. As a result, hardness increased in AlgySalt® reformulated samples, while it decreased when 80% SM were used. Whereas, AlgySalt® induced less cooking loses than SM. To some extent, microbiological counts showed a similarity between reformulated and control samples for both sausage types, whereas reformulated products containing SM revealed better sensory properties for both meat products. Therefore, using SM as NaCl replacer is adequate for processed meat products.The authors would like to thank the PASRI for Dr. Mehdi Triki's Postdoctoral scholarship and the Laboratory of Food Analysis, Valorization and Security (LAVASA) of the National School of Engineers of Sfax for its collaboration to realize the analytical part of this study.Peer Reviewe