Minnetonka, MN- March 3, 2010 Fresh meat is naturally low in sodium, but many processors increase the sodium content by adding salts or phosphates to improve flavor or functionality. The primary additives used are Sodium Chloride (Salt) and phosphates. Salt is added to processed meat at typical levels of 1-2%, thus contributing an additional 500-1000mg of sodium to 100g. of meat. Phosphate in the form of Sodium Tripolyphoshate is used at 0.25 to 0.5% levels and will contribute between 75-150mgs of Sodium. So if you are developing low sodium processed meat products, reducing or removing sodium chloride or salt from your formulations is the most effective way of doing so.

Replacing salt in meat would be easy if flavor were the only consideration. A combination of various flavors, enhancers, salt substitutes or spices can help replace the flavor notes that are lost when removing salt from your formulation.

However, salt plays a significant role in meat processing. Salt functions to increase the ions in the meat systems

One strategy to reduce sodium is to replace it with potassium. Potassium Chloride is ionically the closest salt molecule to sodium chloride. It will give you the closest functionality results as any other salt combinations. One of the drawbacks to Potassium Chloride is its bitter taste. Nu-Tek has developed a patent pending technology that minimizes this off flavor.