Determinación del contenido de cloruro de sodio en salchichas tipo I de las marcas reconocidas de embutidos, expendidas en la ciudad de Cuenca

Abstract

Food grade salt is a crystalline product whose chemical formula is NaCl (sodium chloride), obtained from the sea, subway mineral salt deposits or natural brine. It is an essential ingredient in processed meat products, and is directly related to flavor, texture improvement, solubilization of myofibrillar proteins and reduction of water activity (aw), controlling the growth of microorganisms and improving shelf life. In Ecuador, salt consumption is above the WHO recommendations, so several scientific studies have been conducted to demonstrate the high consumption and the correlation with non-communicable diseases. Since 2014, the country has a traffic light labeling system, which details the nutritional information on fat, salt and sugar content, so that consumers have clear information on the content present in the product to be ingested. Aforementioned, a cross sectional descriptive research was carried out, with the sampling and selection of products for convenience, easy access and limited economic resources, the most economical type I sausages were selected, of greater daily consumption and of the most recognized brands in the city of Cuenca. The quantitative determination of chlorides in the samples was carried out by the Volhard method, with the objective of comparing if the salt content corresponds to the semaforization in its packaging and therefore if the product complies with the specifications of the nutritional labeling mentioned above, as a result, the present study found that the sodium content obtained is higher than the sodium content specified on the labels of each of the brands analyzed; however, the semaforization present in the packaging is adequate.