Potassium chloride in lower-salt, lower-fat fermented sausages and consumer preference
What it found
Adding 0.64% potassium chloride to leaner, lower-salt sausages barely changed texture or how much consumers liked them.
Consumers preferred the version with reduced fat, reduced salt and added potassium chloride.
What they found
Studies in people
Consumer preference for KCl
Shoppers preferred the sausage that had both fat and salt lowered along with 0.64% potassium chloride added. The potassium chloride barely affected how much consumers liked it overall.
Other findings
Texture and moisture changes
Lowering fat and salt raised moisture, redness, hardness and chewiness in the sausages. Adding 0.64% potassium chloride to the leanest batch barely changed these texture measures.
Sunflower oil effects
Adding sunflower oil made the sausages softer, more crumbly and oilier in flavour. This change may have lowered how much consumers liked them.
What the authors conclude
- They found that lowering fat and salt while adding 0.64% potassium chloride was the option consumers liked best.
- The authors note that adding sunflower oil afterwards could reduce consumer acceptance because of changes in texture and flavour.
How it was done
Food makers want to lower salt and fat in sausages while keeping them appealing to shoppers. Potassium chloride is sometimes used to replace some of the removed salt.
Researchers made small fermented sausages with less fat (dropping from 20% to 10% and 7%) and less salt (dropping from 2.5% to 1.5%). They then added 0.64% potassium chloride and sunflower oil to some batches and measured colour, texture, taste and consumer preference.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This work tested one type of small fermented sausage, so results may differ for other foods.
- It measured immediate consumer preference rather than long-term health effects of eating potassium chloride.
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 1 Oct 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error