Manufacture of Low-Na White Soft Brined Cheese: Effect of NaCl Substitution with a Combination of Na-K Salts on Proximate Composition, Mineral Content, Microstructure, and Sensory Acceptance

All over the world, especially in Western societies, table salt intake that is inordinately higher than the acceptable level has been observed. An excess of Na in the human diet, mostly from processed foods, is becoming the "number one killer", leading to increased blood pressure. Therefore, the food industry is faced with a need to reduce Na in human nutrition in an effort to raise public health protection to a higher level. In this study, a commercially available combination of Na/K salts (COMB) at different concentrations was used as a NaCl substitute in the production of a modified, healthier, Na-reduced cheese. Samples of the modified low-Na white soft-brined cheese (WSBC) were produced by adding four different concentrations of COMB to production lots PL-1 to PL-4, and the control (CON) samples were prepared by salting with the usual, non-reduced concentration of NaCl. The effects of NaCl replacement on the physical-chemical parameters, major- and micro-elements, and microstructural and sensory properties of the WSBC were investigated. The obtained results indicated that there was no significant influence on the ash content, pH, and aw. The Na and K levels differed among treatments (p < 0.001). The lowest Na level in this study was recorded in PL-4 (only COMB was added) and was 334.80 ± 24.60 mg/100 g. According to the Na content, WSBC PL4 can be labeled with the nutrient claim "reduced amount of Na". A significant difference (p < 0.05) was noticed in overall acceptance between the CON and PL-4, with no statistically significant difference found amongst other WSBC production lots. The replacement of NaCl resulted in a slightly greater firmness of the WSBC. The results confirm the possibility of producing low-Na WSBC when optimal amounts of a suitable mineral salt are used as a substitute for NaCl, thus reducing the risk of high Na intake in the human body through the consumption of evaluated cheese.

Effect of sodium salt on meat products and reduction sodium strategies - A review

Sodium salt is one of the important additives in food processing. However, excessive intake of sodium salt may cause a series of cardiovascular diseases. Nowadays, sodium intake in most countries is higher than the World Health Organization recommends maximum consumption (5 g/d). 20% of the sodium intake in diets comes from meat products. Therefore, reducing the content of sodium salt in meat products and developing sodium salt-reduction meat products have attracted more and more attention for consumers. In this paper, the roles of sodium salt in meat product processing were reviewed. At the same time, sodium salt reduction strategies and existing problems were summarized and discussed. Multiple factors need to be considered to improve the salt-reduction meat product's quality. Relying on a single technology has a narrow application area, and it is difficult to achieve salt reduction. Therefore, a combination of multiple strategies could obtain a more ideal effect.

Development of Strategies to Manufacture Low-Salt Meat Products – A review

Urbanization is usually followed by changes in eating habits, with a specific trend toward the consumption of ready-to-eat products, such as processed foods. Among the latter, meat products are known contributors to high dietary sodium owing to salt addition. Salt plays an essential role in maintaining the quality of meat products in terms of acceptability and safety. However, an excessive salt intake is linked to high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases. Hence, several studies have been competing for the discovery of salt alternatives performing in a similar way as common salt. A number of replacements have been proposed to reduce salt consumption in meat products while taking into account consumer preferences. Unfortunately, these have resulted in poorer product quality, followed by new adverse effects on health. This review addresses these recent issues by illustrating some established approaches and providing insight into further challenges in developing low-salt meat products.

Sodium Reduction in Traditional Fermented Foods: Challenges, Strategies, and Perspectives

Sodium salt is a pivotal ingredient in traditional fermented foods, but its excessive consumption adversely affects human health, product quality, and production efficiency. Therefore, reducing sodium salt content in traditional fermented foods and developing low-sodium fermented foods have attracted increasing attention. Given the essential role of sodium salt in the safety and quality of fermented foods, appropriate approaches should be applied in the production of low-sodium fermented foods. In this review, the challenges of sodium reduction in traditional fermented foods are presented, including the possible growth of pathogenic bacteria, the formation of hazardous chemicals, flavor deficiency, and texture deterioration. Physical, chemical, and biological strategies are also discussed. This review provides references for improving the quality and safety of low-sodium fermented foods.

Salt Replacement Changed the Bacterial Community Composition and Physicochemical Characteristics of Sodium-Reduced Fermented Sausages during Fermentation and Ripening

The impact on fermented sausages with 25% replacement of the sodium chloride content by 14% potassium chloride, 10% calcium ascorbate and 1% calcium glutamate during fermentation and ripening was evaluated based on the bacterial community composition and physicochemical and sensory characteristic analysis. Our results showed that the use of salt replacement varied the composition of the bacterial community and reduced the diversity of that in sodium-reduced fermented sausages. Moreover, the decrease in pH and the moisture content of fermented sausages with salt replacement accelerated the drying and ripening processes. The texture profile and color analysis did not reveal marked differences between normal fermented sausages and sodium-reduced products with salt replacement; however, salt replacement reduced resilience and lightness of fermented sausages. In addition, as shown in the principal component analysis, the comprehensive parameters of the fermented sausages with salt replacement were similar to those of normal salt products. These results indicate that the complex blends of salt replacement have great potential to be used to produce sodium-reduced fermented sausages.

Diversity and Antimicrobial Activity towards Listeria spp. and Escherichia coli among Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Ready-to-Eat Seafood

Biopreservation is a food preservation technology using microorganisms and/or their inherent antimicrobial metabolites to inhibit undesirable microorganisms. The aim of the present study was to explore the diversity and antimicrobial activity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains (n = 99) isolated from ready-to-eat (RTE) seafood (cold-smoked salmon (CSS), gravlax, and sushi) towards two strains of Listeria monocytogenes (CCUG 15527, F11), Listeria innocua (CCUG 15531) and Escherichia coli (CCUG 38079). The LAB strains were assigned to five different genera (Carnobacterium spp., Lactobacillus spp., Leuconostoc spp., Weissella spp., and Enterococcus sp.) by sequencing a 1150 bp stretch of the 16S rRNA gene. A significant association between the seafood source and the distribution of LAB genera was found (p < 0.001), of which Leuconostoc spp. were most prevalent in sushi and Carnobacterium sp. and Lactobacillus sp. were most frequently isolated from CSS and gravlax. Antimicrobial activity among the LAB was significantly affected by LAB genera (F= 117.91, p < 0.001, one-way ANOVA), product of origin (F = 3.47, p < 0.05), and target (F = 4.64, p = 0.003). LAB isolated from sushi demonstrated a significantly higher antimicrobial effect than LAB from CSS and gravlax (p < 0.05). In general, a significantly higher antimicrobial activity was found towards Listeria spp. than E. coli (p < 0.05). However, Leuconostoc spp. demonstrated similar antimicrobial effects towards E. coli and Listeria spp., except for L. monocytogenes F11 being more sensitive (p < 0.05). This study suggested that seafood-derived LAB strains could be selected for technological application in RTE seafood systems.

Sushi processing: microbiological hazards and the use of emerging technologies

Sushi meal has been adapting to different countries and traditions ever since it was invented. Recently there is a growing popularity of ready-to-eat sushi meals, with new sushi production plants emerging in many countries. This relatively new sushi industry is facing many challenges, one of which is the microbiological hazard related to sushi consumption. The aim of this review was to summarize the most significant aspects with regard to microbiological quality of sushi, reported cases of sushi-related poisoning, as well as the potential of modern innovative and emerging technologies to inhibit microbiological growth. Although there is a limited amount of studies in relation to sushi shelf-life extension, the existing data shows potential of using novel minimal processing technologies to improve the shelf-life and quality of sushi meals. Those technologies include the use of cold plasma, plasma activated water and electrolyzed water, as well as the use of innovative packaging and edible coatings. Based on the collected data, the possible microbiological hazards in the production process of sushi, with possible use of emerging technologies to reduce or eliminate those risks, are also emphasized.

A comprehensive perspective of food nanomaterials

Nanotechnology is a rapidly developing toolbox that provides solutions to numerous challenges in the food industry and meet public demands for healthier and safer food products. The diversity of nanostructures and their vast, tunable functionality drives their inclusion in food products and packaging materials to improve their nutritional quality through bioactive fortification and probiotics encapsulation, enhance their safety due to their antimicrobial and sensing capabilities and confer novel sensorial properties. In this food nanotechnology state-of-the-art communication, matrix materials with particular focus on food-grade components, existing and novel production techniques, and current and potential applications in the fields of food quality, safety and preservation, nutrient bioaccessibility and digestibility will be detailed. Additionally, a thorough analysis of potential strategies to assess the safety of these novel nanostructures is presented.

Substitution of sodium chloride by salt microspheres in dough: Effect on dough rheological properties

This research aimed to evaluate the impact of different salts on dough rheology parameters and gas cell development during dough preparation. Three types of salts in four concentrations each were used in dough preparation and following analyses were conducted: sodium content, salt structure analysis, dough hardness, dough stickiness and dough image analysis. The research showed how significantly (p < .05) the measured properties of dough can be influenced by the used type of salt, salt concentrations and fermentation time. The emphasis is put on salt substitutes of hollow microsphere salt (Hs) substitutes due to its special physical characteristics. The uniqueness of Hs physical characteristics was confirmed by electron microscope photomicrographs. The gained results are indicating that even low changes in salt concentration (0.40; 0.30; 0.25; and 0.15) make noticeable changes in dough characteristics. The usage of salt substitutes in food industry has been constantly growing and it makes the research a valuable source of information for further application of this salts.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

The different salt types (table-Ts, sea-Ss and hollow microsphere-Hs) which were studied in our work differ just slightly. However, an important issue in choosing salt should also be the nutritive perspective, in particular low sodium content as a preventive measure against cardio-vascular diseases. Hs and Ss are therefore suitable alternatives to typical Ts.