Simple methods to decrease sodium and nitrite contents in hams

Introduction: Ham is a product highly consumed by society; however it contains some elements that make it a non-recommended food. Thus, it has been attempted to eliminate or reduce those components. Material and Methods: Content of sodium, nitrites, peroxides and total coliforms were compared after processes of Washing (W) and Simple Cooking (SC) in turkey and pork ham in a cross-sectional analytical experimental study. Furthermore, sensory acceptance of the samples through an acceptance test of five points was evaluated. One-way ANOVA with post hoc Bonferroni were used to assess the mean difference between groups. The value of p <= 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Both processes reduced the amount of sodium in both types of ham in statistically significant way (p <= 0.001). The major percentage of reduction was presented with SC: 73.4% for turkey ham and 63.5% for pork ham. Likewise, the higher percentage of nitrite reduction was 50.6% in pork ham with SC technique (p <= 0.05). Peroxide index decreased with both techniques in both hams without statistical significance. Total coliforms count was kept constant in all samples. Higher sensory acceptance of W concerning SC in all sensory characteristics was observed. Conclusions: W and SC techniques reduce sodium, nitrite and peroxide index without affecting the sanitation of hams. Furthermore, W is accepted in all sensory categories. We recommend using W technique before consumption of the product.