Reduced‐sodium Vienna sausage: Selected quality characteristics, optimized salt mixture, and commercial scale‐up production

Sodium reduction influences the quality of processed meat products that, in turn, affect consumer acceptance. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate the texture, color, and sensory acceptability of reduced‐sodium Vienna sausage. A three‐component mixture design (0‐65% NaCl; 35–100% KCl; 0–20% glycine [Gly]) was performed to obtain an optimal salt mixture based on 14 sausage formulations. Mixture response surface plots revealed the optimal reduced‐sodium Vienna sausage containing 20.13–65.00% NaCl, 35.00–60.15% KCl, and 0.00–20.00% Gly (this salt mixture constituted 1.35% of the formulation). One optimal laboratory‐scale sausage, formulated with 21.43% NaCl, 59.71% KCl, and 18.86% Gly, was further selected for commercial scale‐up production (a 25‐kg batch). Both laboratory‐scale and scale‐up products were comparably acceptable (5.9‐6.6 vs. 5.9‐6.7) for overall liking, flavor, saltiness, and texture, and contained 315.4–333.5 mg sodium/100 g, hence having >25% sodium reduction compared to the control (569.5 mg/100 g) according to US Food and Drugs Administration regulation. This study demonstrated the feasibility of a scale‐up production of acceptable reduced‐sodium Vienna sausage formulated with a salt mixture of NaCl/KCl/Gly. Practical Application Processed meat products are one of the major sources of daily dietary sodium in the form of sodium chloride. Recently, there is an increased demand by consumers for healthier meat products. Of particular interest is finding solutions for sodium reduction in meat products while maintaining sensory properties and consumer acceptance. This study demonstrated that a mixture of KCl and Gly could be used as partial NaCl substitution in the commercial scale‐up of Vienna sausages without drastically compromising sensory acceptability.