A moderate reduction of salt can be applied in the specific recipes for sausages (from 2.2% to 1.7%) and ham (from 2.3% to 1.8%) used in this study without substantially altering the sensory properties, yield, shelf life and safety.Further reduction would affect product quality and would therefore require other measures such as technological optimisation or the substitution of salt with other functional ingredients. In contrast, bacon and salami produced in this study were significantly altered already at a moderate reduction level. A simple approach for salt reduction in these products can therefore not be recommended when using these specific recipes. Bringing salt reduction successfully into industrial use will need carefully examination of the processing and the amount of ingredients and meat cuts used to be sure that the recipe are robust for the natural changes in the functionality of the meat (i.e. pH) and the other ingredients used.