Fermented sausages with 25% or 50% of their NaCl replaced by KCl and supplemented with 1% or 2%
concentrations of yeast extract were produced. The sausage production process was monitored with physical,
chemical and microbiological analyses. After production, the sausage samples were submitted to a consumer
study and their volatile compounds were extracted by solid-phase microextraction and analyzed by GC–MS.
The replacement of NaCl by KCl did not significantly influence the physical, chemical or microbiological
characteristics. The sensory quality of the fermented sausages with a 50% replacement was poor compared
with the full-salt control samples. The use of yeast extract at a 2% concentration increased volatile compounds
that arose from amino acids and carbohydrate catabolism. These compounds contributed to the suppression
of the sensory-quality defects caused by the KCl introduction, thus enabling the production of safe fermented
sausages that have acceptable sensory qualities with half as much sodium content.