Study on the Application of Nanochitin for Salt Reduction in Vietnamese Pork Paste (Gio Lua)

Nanochitin is a preparation derived from chitin through a "fragmentation" process down to nanometer size. Compared to chitin, nanochitin exhibits several novel properties such as high solubility, the ability to carry an electric charge, and interaction with certain anions in NaCl solution. Owing to these characteristics, nanochitin has found expanded applications in various fields such as environmental science, medicine, and food technology. This paper presents the results of a study on the application of nanochitin for salt reduction in food products. The experimental research utilized nanochitin, produced by a hydrolysis-ultrasound combined method, with an average size of 228 nm. At a concentration of 80 μg/ml, nanochitin enhanced the salty taste of 0.65% NaCl solution to a level equivalent to that of 0.69% NaCl solution. In trials with Vietnamese pork paste (Gio lua), using nanochitin at 0.109 g/kg of meat enabled a reduction of 0.545 g of salt, corresponding to 5.8% of the total salt content, while still maintaining the same salty taste as the control sample. Other sensory attributes showed no detectable changes. These results suggest a potential application of nanochitin in reducing dietary salt intake, contributing to addressing the current issue of excessive salt consumption.