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Abstract: Salting, one of the fundamental operations in Spanish cured loin manufacturing, is essential to preserve the product throughout its processing and storage. However, elevated blood pressure has been identified to be the major adverse effect associated with increased sodium intake. The partial replacement of NaCl with other chloride salts such as KCl, CaCl2 and MgCl2 has been proposed as a possible strategy to reduce the sodium content of these products. The aim of this study was to determine the salting time needed to reach the same chloride content as commercial dry-cured loins and, to characterise the first step in dry-cured loin production (salting), in loins salted with sodium partial replaced salts. The results indicated a reduction in the salting time when using KCl as NaCl substitute and an increase in the salting time when adding CaCl2 and MgCl2 to the mixture. Further studies need to be done in order to fully understand the influence of these low sodium mixtures of salts on the following manufacturing steps and the final quality characteristics of the product. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The partial replacement of sodium chloride by other salts has been proposed as a possible strategy to reduce the sodium content of cured meat products. Nevertheless, there is very little knowledge as regards the influence of salts other than sodium chloride on salting kinetics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect brought about by substituting sodium chloride with potassium, calcium and magnesium chloride on the salting kinetics of dry cured loins. The results showed very important changes in the salting pattern depending on the type of salts. Partial substitution of sodium affected both water and ion transport during the salting process. The presence of KCl decreased water loss while CaCl2 and MgCl2 had the opposite effect. However, replacement of up to 50% NaCl by KCl had no significant effect on the salting kinetics in the case of the control formulation. Calcium and magnesium cations penetrated with difficulty into the muscle remaining in the brine formed during the pile salting process. Moreover, the presence of calcium and magnesium cations considerably reduced the sodium and potassium content of the salted loin. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The consumption of cured meat products is not recommended to hypertensive consumers due to its high sodium content. This constitutes an important restriction for this industry, which is becoming more and more important due to the current trends in consumption. The partial replacement of sodium chloride by potassium chloride has been proposed as a possible strategy to reduce the sodium content of this type of products. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect brought about by partial replacement of sodium chloride with potassium chloride (up to 70%) on physicochemical and microbiological parameters of dry-cured pork loin after the curing and drying process. The results showed that it is possible to obtain low sodium dry-cured loin, up to a 50% replacement of sodium by potassium, with similar physicochemical characteristics to the commercial product with usual amounts of sodium. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Dry-cured ham consumption is restricted by hypertensive consumers due to its high sodium content. This constitutes an important matter for this industry, being relevant due to the current trends in consumption. In order to prevent the problems related to the high sodium intake, one of the possibilities is the total or partial replacement of sodium by other ions, such as potassium, calcium and magnesium. The aim of this study was to characterise the post-salting stage in Spanish cured ham production with the results obtained after salting with low sodium salt content. The results showed that lower sodium hams needed more time of post-salting to reach similar water activity values than those achieved by hams salted with 100% NaCl. Nevertheless, no differences in microbial counts were observed among the studied batches, although a sharp decrease in microbiota was observed when the, post-salting time was prolonged in the lower sodium hams. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]