"SALT REDUCTION" PARMA DRY-CURED HAM AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE PLANTS FOR SAFER PRODUCTS
Reasons for reducing the salt in hams and
other meat products: Salt and Health
Salt is a compound normally found in
nature. All foods, including vegetables, meat, fish, milk, grains and fruit,
contain salt in varying quantities
(http://www.valori-alimenti.com/cerca/sodio.php). In addition to being
naturally present in the raw material, the use of salt is a part of every
culinary tradition, and it is also widely used in the food industry as an
ingredient to enhance the flavour of foods and give them a longer shelf life.
According to the INRAN (the Italian National Institute for Research on Food and
Nutrition), 10% of the salt we consume is naturally present in the food and
beverages we eat and drink, 36% is added during meal preparation at home, and a
full 54% comes from processed food products (both traditionally hand-processed
and industrially processed) and from dishes prepared in restaurants
(http://www.inran.it) (Figure 1). The American Heart Association
(http://www.heart.org) has put together a list of products with a critically
high sodium content: pre-packaged sliced bread, cold cuts and cured meats,
pizza, chicken and soups (Figure 2).
Due to the natural presence of sodium in
the raw material, but chiefly because salt is added to food as an ingredient to
improve flavour and prolong shelf life, our diets are too rich in sodium.
According to a number of studies, excessive salt consumption is responsible for
arterial hypertension and cardiovascular problems (Gibbs et al., 2000; Sofos et
al., 1994; Rohrmann et al., 2013). In order to try and prevent diseases
associated with excessive sodium consumption from occurring, the World Health
Organization (WHO) has conducted extensive research, which has led to the
establishment of a recommended daily per capita salt intake of less than 5
grams (the equivalent of 1 teaspoon), which is equal to 2 grams of sodium
(sodium = salt/2.54) (WHO, 2007). In Italy, the daily salt intake per capita is
approximately 10-15 grams, in other words, 2 to 3 times higher than the amount
recommended by the WHO. The goal is to reduce dietary salt intake by reducing
the salt content in foods, while maintaining the variety and quantity of food
consumed constant and unvarying.
Considering the fact that 100 grams of ham
contain 4-6 grams of salt, the equivalent of the recommended daily intake, it
is therefore necessary to reduce the amount of salt in this product, in order
to make it healthier. However, reaching this goal involves difficulties
associated with the essential role that salt plays (as a preservative and
adjuvant, and in the formation of organoleptic properties)
In the case of prosciutto crudo ( dry-cured ham), salt plays an essential role
in its preservation. Reducing the amount used can lead to problems that would
prevent the product's successful production. Moreover, it should be pointed out
that, for many types of P.D.O. prosciutto, whose production does not permit the
use of nitrates, salt is the only preservative agent. For these reasons it is
necessary to study every stage of the production process, review the critical
steps and develop suitable modifications to introduce to the processing
technology used, in order to obtain a food product with a low sodium content
which is biologically stable and whose qualitative features are equal to those
of traditionally produced prosciutto...
