Browsing by Subject "vähennys"

Sodium chloride is considered to be one of the most important ingredients in sausage production in terms of safety and quality. It is the biggest source of sodium in sausages which has been proven to have negative effects on health. In Finland meat dishes and products are responsible for one third of the sodium consumption per day for men and one fourth for women. Finland is going to begin applying the EU regulation on the provision of food information to consumers by the end of the year 2016. This regulation concerns nutrient information in the food packages. According to the regulation the new threshold value for sausages containing less salt than usual is 1,5 %. The objective of this study was to develop a sausage within the new threshold containing less than 1,2 % added salt and examine changes in sensory properties caused by salt replacements. The sensory method used in this research was quantitative comparison of multiple samples. The variable in the pork meat sausage samples was different potassium chloride salt replacers. Changes in sensory properties were examined by comparing the taste and texture of the samples to a reference sample. The taste properties assessed were saltiness, bitterness and metallic taste. Textural properties under evaluation were firmness and juiciness. The texture was also studied by firmness tests with Instron texture analyzer. According to the statistical results with applied Bonferroni correction, the only significantly differing property was saltiness. Two of the three replacer samples were assessed as less salty than the reference. However, compared to the hidden reference samples, no significant differences were detected. According to the results from the texture analysis, the sample containing the highest potassium chloride content was the least firm. On the basis of the sensory analyses, potassium chloride could be a considerable alternative to sodium chloride as a salt replacer.