SODIUM CHLORIDE CONTENT IN MEAT PRODUCTS

Table salt is the first food additive and its preserving eff ects are well known since long time ago. Because of its role in everyday diet, table salt is one of the fi rst products designated as “functional food”. However, it was established that excessive salt intake, i.e. sodium intake, is frequently associated with hypertension and development of a range of other diseases. Sodium chloride affects sensory and microbiological properties of meat products; however, it aff ects the human health as well. Since the current Regulation (Offi cial Gazette of the Republic of Serbia No. 31/2012) did not define the sodium chloride content of in meat products as a quality parameter, the aim of our study was to determine levels of sodium chloride in diverse meat products available at the market in Novi Sad. A total of 260 samples of meat products were examined, including: shaped ground (minced) meat, vegetarian spreads, smoked products, fermented dry sausages, fi nely minced boiled sausages, canned meat chop and cooked sausages. The content of sodium chloride was determined by using volumetric method. The lowest average sodium chloride content was established in samples of shaped ground meat, being 2.53%. Average level of sodium chloride in vegetarian spreads was 3.55%, in cooked sausages 2.95% and in canned meat chop and smoked products 3.44%. Sodium chloride content in boiled sausages was 3.06%, whereas highest value was established in fermented dry sausages, being 3.71%. According to the guidelines of the World Health Organization, daily salt intake for healthy adults should not exceed 5-6 g. Since the obtained results indicated that sodium chloride contents in some samples were close to the upper recommended limits, continuous and systematic monitoring is of paramount importance in a view of obtaining accurate and reliable information on the content of sodium chloride in relevant meat products.