Potassium chloride in reduced-fat, reduced-salt fermented sausages
What it found
In fuet-type fermented sausages, adding 0.64% potassium chloride to the leanest batch lowered water activity and barely changed texture or consumer acceptability.
Consumers preferred the sausages with reduced fat and salt plus potassium chloride.
What they found
Studies in people
Consumer preference
Consumers preferred the sausages with reduced fat and salt plus 0.64% potassium chloride.
Other findings
Fat and salt reduction
Cutting fat and salt together increased weight loss, moisture, water activity, redness, hardness, chewiness and cohesiveness. It also increased darkness, hardness and elasticity as sensed by tasters, and raised consumer acceptability.
Potassium chloride addition
Adding 0.64% potassium chloride to the leanest batch decreased water activity and barely affected texture measurements or consumer acceptability.
Sunflower oil addition
Adding sunflower oil decreased hardness, chewiness and cohesiveness and increased crumbliness and oil flavour. This may lower consumer acceptability.
What the authors conclude
“The simultaneous reduction of fat and NaCl with the addition of 0.64% KCl was the preferred option by the consumers.”
Also in their conclusions
- They report that the simultaneous reduction of fat and NaCl with the addition of 0.64% KCl was the preferred option by the consumers.
How it was done
They made small-caliber non-acid fermented sausages (fuet type) with fat reduced from 20% to 10% and 7%, added salt reduced from 2.5% to 1.5%, and then added 0.64% potassium chloride and sunflower oil at 1.5% and 3.0%. They measured physical and chemical properties, colour, texture, sensory properties and consumer acceptability.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This study looked at one type of fermented sausage and one level of potassium chloride, so the results may not apply to other foods or amounts.
- The paper reports what tasters preferred and what was measured in these sausages, not what happens in the body.
The paper
- Title
- Sensory characterisation and consumer acceptability of potassium chloride and sunflower oil addition in small-caliber non-acid fermented sausages with a reduced content of sodium chloride and fat
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Mora-Gallego H, Guàrdia MD, Serra X, Gou P, Arnau J (2016). Sensory characterisation and consumer acceptability of potassium chloride and sunflower oil addition in small-caliber non-acid fermented sausages with a reduced content of sodium chloride and fat. Meat science. doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2015.10.008PubMed 26497101DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error