Contents of sodium chloride and sodium in various groups of meat products | Sadržaj natrijum-hlorida i natrijuma u proizvodima od mesa različitih grupa

Sodium chloride for centuries remained an essential addition to meat products, because it increases the solubility of proteins and allows the binding of myofi brils of meat, water and fat in the formation of the desirable gel texture, increased emulsifying capacity, extends the viability of lowering the aw value is essential for the taste (via receptors in the tongue) and reduces fluid loss in heat-treated products packed in vacuum. A signifi cant sector of the population, especially in Western countries is suffering from cardiovascular diseases (of which hypertension is most common). The increase of blood pressure when sodium is present in the diet was noticed in a part of the already mentioned high-risk population. One of the proposed risk-reduction strategies of World Health Organization (WHO) is that manufactured food has reduced sodium content by 60%. Meat and meat products of the sodium brought 12 to 20% of total food intake, and are one of the priority products to reduce its content. In this sense, the work was conceived in order to examine the content of sodium chloride and sodium in meat products originating from 3 different production batches of a local manufacturer. The tested products were: Kulen (fermented sausage), Bacon (coarsely grounded boiled sausage), smoked pork neck (smoked product) and dried pork ham (meat products). Sodium chloride content was determined by the Volhard (volumetric). Sodium content was determined from the ratio of sodium and chlorine in sodium chloride determined in the product. The highest average content of sodium chloride was found in the dry pork ham (g/100g 5.718 or 5.718%), which is the expected value for dry meat products. Smoked pork neck contained an average of 5.469% of sodium chloride, Bacon Sausage 3.768%, the lowest content of sodium chloride was determined in Kulen (3.451%). Comparing the obtained values and the values of other authors for the group of smoked, cooked and fermented sausages, we concluded that our studied products had signifi cantly higher concentrations of salt. No statistically signifi cant differences in the content of sodium chloride in tested meat products between measurements carried out in various production batches were recorded, indicating that the manufacturing process technology salting strictly adhered to. Owner of the meat processing were offered solutions on how to modify the technological process, and increase the nutritive properties of products from the medical point.