This study investigated the effects of high pressure (HP) treatment of pork meat before manufacturing sausages
with reduced salt levels and compared them to sausages manufactured with untreated meat (control sausages).
A 2 × 5 factorial design was set up incorporating two pressure levels (0 or 150 MPa) and five salt levels (0.5, 1.0,
1.5, 2.0 and 2.5%). Most quality attributes were affected when salt levels were reduced below 1.5%. Fat loss (FL)
was (P b 0.05) affected by salt level; samples with b1.5% salt had the highest FL. HP treatment increased emulsion
stability and reduced cook loss (CL) compared to control sausages. Increased CL was observed when salt
was reduced below 2.0%. Salt reduction below 1.5% adversely affected colour, sensory and texture attributes. Independent
of salt, HP treatment affected adversely juiciness and cohesiveness while adhesiveness was improved.
Overall, there is potential to manufacture sausages maintaining organoleptic and functional properties traditionally
associated with sausages using HP treated meat.