MEAT+POULTRY - March 2015 - 75

a consumer notices a difference in the sensory
attributes," says Julie Schuette, technical food
applications manager, Cargill, Minneapolis.
"Stepwise reductions in salt over time can be
a good overall strategy, as there is a belief by
many food manufacturers that when salt is
removed in small increments, the decrease in
salty flavor is small enough to go unnoticed by
consumers." However, eventually, too large of
a reduction can drastically alter the flavor, as
well as the texture, and render it unacceptable
by the consumer. 
Taste is paramount, but texture cannot
be ignored. The good news is that potassium
chloride, either specially processed, or with
assistance from flavoring agents, can provide
full-salt textures in low-sodium formulations.
"In addition to flavor modifications, waterholding capacity [WHC] of meat products is
very sensitive and directly related to changes
in salt content," Schuette says. "As salt
content decreases, WHC decreases, and this
can impact the textural sensory aspect and
yield of meat products."
Research suggests that it's the negatively
charged chloride ion in salt that affects WHC,
not the sodium ion; therefore, an ingredient
such as potassium chloride should have an
impact on WHC similar to sodium chloride,
sans the sodium.
"Negatively charged chloride ions are
attracted like a magnet to the positively
charged surface of the myofibril protein
surface," Schuette says. "As the number
of negative chloride ions increases, they
neutralize the positive charges, causing the
isoelectric point of the myofibril proteins
to shift. This weakens the attraction
between myofibrils and allows more
water to move into the space between
myofibrils, resulting in filament
swelling and increasing WHC.
"We have been able to successfully
reduce the sodium contents of many
types of meat products through the
use of our proprietary potassium
chloride," she says. "There are no
detectable changes to texture and yields
remain high."
With potassium being a nutrient
of concern, use of potassium chloride
provides two benefits. It allows for

a reduction in sodium while increasing
potassium content.
Starting with naturally sourced potassium
chloride from North American salt mines,
NuTek Food Science, Omaha, Neb., applies its
patented single-crystal technology to produce
a potassium chloride salt that functions as
a one-to-one direct replacement for regular
sodium chloride salt. "In collaboration with
our customers, we commonly see successful
sodium reduction levels of 30 percent to 50
percent, oftentimes, in excess of 50 percent,
across a variety of foods, particularly
proteins," says Brian Boor, president and COO.
The ingredient is listed as potassium
chloride, with or without a carrier. "Depending
on the ingredient used, one of three carriers
- rice flour, wheat flour or maltodextrin - will
need to be listed on the ingredient statement,
along with potassium chloride. Many times
these ingredients are already present in the
formula, so no extra declaration is necessary,"
Boor says. "In many instances, the use of this
ingredient simplifies ingredient statements, as
flavors or masking agents can be eliminated,
resulting in a cleaner label and in some cases a
cost-neutral end product."
Innophos Inc., Cranbury, NJ, offers a salt
replacement system based on magnesal,
which is a patented technology that yields a
single crystal of magnesium, potassium and

The sodium
content of
bacon and
pepperoni
can be cut in
half, while
deli-style ham
and turkey
can be reduced
by about onethird.

Lean meat should be
included in a healthy,
balanced diet. Although
many processors are
working hard to reduce
sodium in their meat
products, great care
must be taken not
to reduce too much
because this could
damage the flavor.

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