Abstract:
The common use of sodium in different compositions, is as a preservative, for
colouring, curing, flavouring and as a binding agent in processed meats, it is also
used for improved shelf life and distinct palatability. Even with modern food
processing methods, sodium is still essential in manufacturing of meat derivatives.
Continuous consumption of high sodium diets is associated with adverse chronic
health effects, such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, stroke, cancers,
among others, which have been on the rise. As a result, there has been a global
drive by organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) to advise
member states to reduce dietary sodium levels in various foods, including
processed meats. Consequently, South Africa promulgated the first sodium
reduction regulations in Africa by 2013, intended to reduce sodium in certain
foodstuffs, including processed meat products. The objectives of this study were to
determine (1) the level of sodium in processed meats produced by local butcheries
in the City of Tshwane (CoT), Gauteng, South Africa and (2) to compare the
amount of sodium in processed meats, determined using the two South African
legislated methods, namely Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (FAAS) and
Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES). A crosssectional
approach with qualitative and experimental dimensions approach was
followed. Processed meat production records obtained from randomly selected
butcheries in CoT (122) revealed that the top six commonly produced processed
meats were boerewors (90.2 %), braaiwors (87.7 %), biltong (86.9 %), drywors
(62.3 %), viennas (45.9 %) and burger patties (43.5 %). Subsequently, sampling
(n=396) of the top six products from 66 randomly selected butcheries was done.
The findings of the study revealed that processed meats analysed using ICP-AES
and FAAS contained mean sodium levels of 1449 mg/100 g and 649 mg/100 g,
respectively (p<0.0001), which were higher than the South African legal sodium
limits. The concentration of sodium of products determined using ICP-AES (64.7 -
9201 mg/100 g) was significantly (p<0.0001) higher than in the same products
analysed using FAAS (35.4 - 2351 mg/100 g). From the findings of this study,
sodium reduction requires a concerted effort in enforcing the South African
mandatory sodium limits in local butcheries in processed meats. The results of
legislated sodium test methods must be comparable to ensure equal level of
compliance.
