Meat+Poultry - January 2024 - 35

Cranbury, NJ. " To allow nutrition professionals
time to implement the changes, the rule
proposes a multi-year approach to reducing
weekly sodium targets starting in 2025. Given
this timeline, new product formulation needs
to start now. "
Suppliers are ready to help through the
use of varied ingredient technologies to cut a
little bit here and a little bit there, or making
functional substitutions, while maintaining
product quality and safety. These efforts are
a significant step in creating a healthier food
supply to help reverse the trend of diet-related
chronic diseases, according to FDA. That's
because too much sodium increases the risk
for developing hypertension, thereby raising
the risk for heart attacks and strokes.
POTASSIUM SALT TO THE RESCUE
In most meat and poultry applications, you
can only cut out so much sodium chloride,
otherwise known as table salt, before the
product is negatively impacted. That's why
formulators need to explore all ingredients that
contribute sodium and make cuts and swaps
where possible. One of the most common
swaps is replacing sodium chloride with
potassium chloride.
Since Dec. 17, 2020, the term potassium salt
may be used on ingredient statements rather
than potassium chloride. This is considered a
more consumer-friendly term.
" Sodium reduction can be a challenge
in meat and poultry products, as salt plays
a number of functional roles in these
applications, influencing everything from flavor
and yield to microbial control, " said Joseph
Purl, food scientist and culinary chef, Cargill,
Minneapolis. " We've found potassium salt can
serve as a one-to-one replacement for sodium
chloride since it offers similar functionality to
salt. With potassium salt, manufacturers can
count on maintaining the same great taste,
texture and shelf life of their foods, all while
reducing the sodium content up to 50%. "
" Deeper salt reductions are possible in
more seasoned products like meat sticks, while
blander applications, like deli poultry meat,
might only allow for a 30% salt reduction, " Purl
said. " Ultimately, finding the right balance will
depend on the application. "
Ingredient suppliers have learned numerous
formulation techniques to trick the taste buds
into tasting more sodium than is present in the
final product. It's all about the way the tongue
perceives salty.
" In chicken nuggets, we've found we can
use up to 100% potassium salt inside the
nugget, if we use real salt in the breading, " Purl
explained. " The topical salt in the breading
delivers the flavor experience consumers
expect and masks the off notes from the
potassium salt in the chicken. This approach
enables brands to cut salt by as much as 50%,
without impacting consumer likeability or
processing yields. "
Prepared foods, such as breakfast
sandwiches, pasta sauces and even sloppy
joe meat, may be distributed to school meal
programs in refrigerated or frozen formats.
With these products, it is important to consider
all the sources of sodium.
" In a chicken patty with gravy, there's salt in
both the gravy and the chicken patty. To lower
the sodium, we encourage brands to explore
sodium reduction in both components, using
potassium salt in the chicken patty, and opting
for our unique crystallized salt in the gravy, "
Purl said. " Its crystalline structure has been
used to reduce sodium by 15% in gravy sauces
as part of a prepared meal, which may help
mask the potassium salt in the patty. Equally
important for food manufacturers, using
potassium salt in the chicken patty delivers the
same cook yields as traditional salt. "
NuTek Natural Ingredients, Omaha, Neb.,
offers a variety of potassium-salt based
solutions to reduce the sodium content of the
batters, breadings, marinades and seasonings
used in many of the meat and poultry foods
that school-aged kids enjoy. The greatest
challenge with swapping potassium salt with
table salt is its bitter flavor.
" Our clean-label salt solutions are produced
using a proprietary washing and drying process
to eliminate potassium's bitterness, without
the use of bitter blockers, flavor modulators or
synthetic additives, " said Steve Zimmerman,
senior director technical sales at NuTek
Natural Ingredients. " These cost-effective
solutions deliver a healthier
nutrition balance,
while delivering the
same great taste
and functionality as
regular salt. "
" School
nutrition
professionals
are focused
on reducing
sodium in
school breakfast
and lunch
programs. "
- AMR SHAHEED
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