Overall salt level (% by wt) Free salt:Crystals (% by wt) Enhancing the saltiness of reduced sodium meat products Nicole J. Gaudette, Stuart P. Johnston & Zeb Pietrasik Food and Bio Processing Division, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Leduc, Alberta, Canada INTRODUCTION Sodium reduction in processed meats can be challenging due to the importance of sodium for proper functionality, microbial stability and sensory properties (Desmond, 2006). Most approaches include straight sodium reduction, which can be perceived as ‘less flavourful’ to consumers, or the use of other chloride salts (e.g., KCl), which can impart bitterness and metallic flavour. Based on previous work (Noort et al, 2012), this study examines the use of ‘taste contrast’ to enhance the saltiness of reduced sodium beef burgers. Through the inhomogenous distribution of sodium chloride, our goal is to enhance the saltiness of reduced sodium (30% reduction) compared to regular sodium burgers. An inhomogenous matrix is created by the addition of larger salt crystals to create a ‘taste contrast’ of saltiness, where we hypothesize that larger sized crystals will increase the perception of baseline saltiness in reduced sodium burgers compared to control (regular salt and straight reduction). RESULTS 100% use of ≥3 mm sized coated crystals for .7% sodium beef burger elicits saltiness significantly higher than 1% control (Fig 1.) All .7% sodium treatments containing at least 50% coated crystals elicited significantly higher saltiness compared to .7% with free salt alone (Fig 1.) Saltiness acceptability of 30% straight reduction received significant mean drop penalty for ‘not salty enough’ but not for ‘too salty’ – all other treatments received mean drops for ‘too salty’ (Fig. 2) Penalties for ‘too salty’ increase steadily with higher percentages of coated crystals (Fig.2) MATERIALS & METHODS Meat: Beef trim (84% lean, 16% fat) Table 1 describes beef patty treatment with overall salt percentage (by wt) as well as the ratio of fee salt to coated salt crystals [ratio of salt applied as table salt (free salt; 0.2-0.4 mm) and/or coated crystals* (≥ 3.0 mm)]. Table 1. Summary of burger treatments with various levels of free salt and crystals used in the study. *crystals sprayed with modified palm oil to produce a hard coating (capsule) of fat that protects their integrity during patty processing and cooking; **cap = % of overall level from the coated crystals (capsules); free salt = pure table salt Beef patty preparation: - grinding 4 mm - mixing with salt for 1 min - forming into 5 oz patties Trained sensory panel: A trained sensory panel (n=9) assessed the saltiness of burgers in triplicate using a 15 cm unstructured visual analog scale with 1 cm indented labels (1 cm = ‘low’; 14 cm = ‘high’). Consumer evaluation: A consumer evaluation panel (n=104) used a 7 pt just about right (JAR) category scale to assess the level of saltiness and a 9 pt hedonic scale to rate saltiness acceptability. Statistical analyses: All data collected using Compusense at-hand software and statistical analyses was performed using XLSTAT version 2015.4.01 for Windows. For trained panel data, all 3 reps were pooled and a 2-way ANOVA was performed with panellist and treatment and their interaction as main effects. Fisher’s LSD were used to determine differences between treatment means (p<0.05). For consumer evaluation, JAR evaluations were subjected to penalty analysis with mean drop scores significant at p<0.05). Figure 1. Mean saltiness intensity scores of burgers containing various levels of coated salt crystals and/or free salt using a 15 cm visual analog scale and performed in triplicate (n=9). Means sharing the same letter do not differ significantly across treatments (p<0.05). Treatment Overall salt level (% by wt) Free salt:Crystals (% by wt) CONTROL 1 1.0 100:0 CONTROL 2 .70 100cap** 0:100 75cap 25:75 50cap 50:50 25cap 75:25 Figure 2. Mean drop penalty analysis results for the impact of treatments rated as ‘not salty enough’ or ‘too salty’ on adjusted saltiness acceptability scores. Adjusted mean saltiness acceptability scores are grouped according to panelists rating products as ‘not salty enough, just about right, or too salty.’ * denotes significant mean drop (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The use of 3 mm sized capsules to enhance saltiness of reduced sodium beef burgers is successful at certain levels of addition. For some portions of the population, the use of larger salt crystals may lead to lower levels of acceptability due to excessive saltiness. Further work is ongoing to optimize levels for use in sausages – a system that is more dependent on background salt for functionality. REFERENCES Desmond, E. (2006). Reducing salt: A challenge for the meat industry. Meat Sci, 74:188-196; Noort, M.W.J., Bult, J.H.F., and Stieger, M. (2012). Salt enhancement by taste contrast in bread prepared with encapsulated salt. J Cereal Sci, 55:218-225. 6309-45 STREET | LEDUC, ALBERTA | CANADA T9E 7C5 P 780.986.4793 | F 780.986.5138 | www.agric.gov.ab.ca/fpdc We acknowledge A. Worobec for technical assistance and the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency Ltd. for financial support.