Effect of low sodium salt on physico- chemical properties of traditional Jinhua ham during processing

In order to reduce the sodium content of traditional Jinhua ham,traditional Jinhua ham was processed with low sodium salt( compared with ordinary salt,the sodium content was reduced by 40% ~ 50%) and ordinary salt,respectively. The effect of the two salts on moisture content,water activity,p H value,sodium and potassium content,proteolysis index,thiobarbituric acid( TBA) value,color and sensory properties during processing was investigated.The results showed that the moisture content of the low sodium batch was 43.86% in the end of aging,and the statistical analysis did not show significant difference( p > 0.05) between the two batches. The salt group had lower p H value than the low sodium group in the end of aging( p < 0.05).The proteolysis index of low sodium group was 14.71% higher than that of the salt group.Statistical analysis showed significant( p < 0.05) differences on TBA value in the end of aging. Moreover,a 52.94% decrease in the sodium content was observed in final low sodium products.The sensory properties did not reveal significant differences( p > 0.05) between the ordinary batch and the low sodium batch.In conclusion,low sodium Jinhua ham possessed traditional flavor and contained lower sodium.