Comparative study on the acceptability and consumer appeal of commercial products and research-optimised low-salt frankfurters and cooked ham manufactured using high-pressure processing and organic acids

The objective of this study was to assess the acceptability and consumer (n = 100) appeal of research-optimised low-salt (ROLS) frankfurters or cooked ham manufactured using high-pressure processing (HPP) and organic acids as hurdles and compared to research control and gold standard commercially available products. For frankfurters, consumers preferred the firmness and saltiness of the ROLS and research control frankfurters while the flavour and juiciness of commercial frankfurters was preferred. In terms of overall sensory acceptability (OSA), the ROLS frankfurter was liked just as much as the commercial brand frankfurter. For cooked ham, the appearance and firmness of ROLS and research control cooked ham was preferred while the juiciness of the commercial cooked ham was preferred. Consumers did not find significant differences in flavour, saltiness or OSA and the ROLS cooked ham was liked just as much as the commercial brand cooked ham. Overall, these results indicate that the ROLS processed meat products were just as acceptable or better than the gold standard commercially available products confirming the potential of the use of response surface methodology to optimise salt replacer Artisalt™, HPP and organic acids to manufacture consumer-accepted low-salt processed meat products with enhanced safety and shelf life.