Methods to improve the quality of low-salt meat products: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Low-salt meat (salt content <2%) is gaining popularity for its lower health risks, while the food industry faces technical challenges in improving its quality. Twenty-one studies involving meat quality improvement measures in low-salt meat products were included in this meta-analysis. The outcomes of these studies were assessed to derive conclusions about their effects on meat hardness and cooking losses. The results demonstrated that higher power ultrasound treatments (300-1500 W) significantly increased the hardness of low-salt meat, while a similar outcome was also achieved by low-strength (50-200 MPa) high-pressure processing (HPP) treatment, which was beneficial for alleviating the undesirable too-soft texture of the low-salt meat products. Furthermore, when salt reduction was greater than 50%, the application of ultrasonic treatment and HPP of 50-200 MPa significantly reduced the cooking losses, and the addition of hydrocolloids also increased the cooking yield of the salt-reduced meat products. Among all the interventions, HPP exhibited the most significant effects in low-salt meat quality improvement, which warrants future studies on the combination of this method with salt reduction strategies in the reduction of salt content in processed meat products.