Salt reduction in cooked sausages

Branka Borović; Slobodan Lilić; Jelena Babić-Milijašević; Milan Milijašević; Tatjana Baltić; Čaba Silađi; Tamara Gerić

doi:10.18485/meattech.2025.66.3.67

Branka Borović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0371-0991
Slobodan Lilić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9452-0361
Jelena Babić-Milijašević Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8923-7046
Milan Milijašević Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4269-236X
Tatjana Baltić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0496-3133
Čaba Silađi Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1933-3849
Tamara Gerić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9303-5231

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18485/meattech.2025.66.3.67

Keywords: salt reduction, meat products, cooked sausages

Abstract

In modern times, the daily intake of sodium chloride is relatively high, especially in industrially developed countries. Increased consumption of sodium chloride can lead to essential hypertension, which is associated with other cardiovascular and renal diseases. Reducing the sodium content in meat products has become an increasingly important trend in contemporary nutrition due to the adverse health effects of excessive salt intake. In the production of cooked sausages, sodium chloride affects both the functional properties of meat products, such as water-binding capacity, and the sensory characteristics of the product, including tenderness, juiciness, and textural attributes. Therefore, one of the main objectives in reducing sodium chloride in such products is to maintain product stability during thermal processing, while preserving a sufficiently salty and desirable taste, as well as the mentioned textural properties.