Blends of calcium, magnesium and potassium chloride were used to partially replace sodium chloride (50-75%) in reduced-fat mortadella formulations. The presence of calcium chloride reduced the emulsion stability, cooking yield, elasticity and cohesiveness and increased hardness; however, it yielded the best sensory acceptance when 50% NaCl was replaced by 25% CaCl(2) and 25% KCl. There was no effect of the salt substitutes on mortadella color, appearance and aroma. All salt combinations studied showed stable lipid oxidation during its shelf life. The use of a blend with 1% NaCl, 0.5% KCl and 0.5% MgCl(2) resulted in the best emulsion stability, but the worst scores for flavor. This study suggests that it is possible to reduce the sodium chloride concentration by 50% in reduced-fat mortadella using the studied salt combinations with necessary adjustments to optimize the sensory properties (MgCl(2) 25%; KCl 25%) or emulsion stability (CaCl(2) 25%; KCl 25%).89426-33