Low salt pig-meat products and novel formulations

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
   1. Objectives:
   2. Learning goals
   3. Teacher page
2. Section 1: Salt and Human Health
   1. Sodium and human physiology
   2. Trends in salt consumption
   3. Dietary salt as a health hazard
   4. Epidemiological studies
   5. High blood pressure
   6. Stroke
   7. Death from cardiovascular disease
   8. Osteoporosis
   9. Stomach cancer
   10. References
3. Section 2: Salt Content of Pig-meat Products
   1. Salt concentration in different pig-meat products
   2. Low-salt products in Europe
   3. Comparisons between various processed products
   4. References
4. Section 3: Science of salt in pig products
   1. From muscle to meat
   2. Effect of salt content on chemical and physical properties and implications for organoleptic properties
   3. Problems related to meat pH
   4. Effect of salt content on microbiological properties in processed meat products
   5. Consequences of reducing salt content
   6. References
5. Section 4 Low-salt Pig Meat Formulations
   1. General points to consider when manufacturing processed pork
   2. Balancing low salt with substitutes, enhancers and alternatives
   3. Effect of low sodium on eating quality, shelf-life and functional properties
   4. Optimum concentrations
   5. Cooked sausages
   6. Frankfurters
   7. Dry fermented sausage
   8. Ground patties
   9. Dry-cured ham
   10. Restructured meats (wet cured ham)
   11. Bacon
   12. Novel approaches in product formulation
   13. Other approaches
   14. Conclusions
   15. References
6. Discussion
7. Glossary
8. Completion
   1. Comments
   2. Self assessment
   3. Evaluation
9. Acknowledgment

Section 3: Science of salt in pig products

Background

Fresh meat normally has a low salt content (0.18 g per 100 g meat); however, salt has been used since ancient times to preserve meat, mainly because of its bacteriostatic properties. Salt also has an impact on meat's water-holding capacity by activating proteins to increase hydration; it increases the binding properties of proteins, improving firmness, and it increases the viscosity of meat emulsion and enhances flavour. In modern meat processing, fat and salt jointly contribute to many of the sensory properties of processed meat products. The relationship between the salt content of a meat and its perceived saltiness can be influenced by other ingredients, for example fat content (Matulis et al., 1995; Ruusunen et al., 2001; Ruusunen et al., 2005; Sheard et al., 2010). This section of the material will enlarge on these principles and explain the science behind them.