Effect of water rinsing on sodium content of selected foods

The sodium content of water-rinsed canned green beans, tuna, and cottage cheese was analyzed. A 3-minute rinse of tuna and cottage cheese resulted in sodium reductions of 80% and 63%, respectively, with no significant effect on iron content. Calcium was reduced by approximately 50%. Although rinsing had a minimal effect on the sodium in canned beans, replacing the canning brine with water before heating lowered salt content by 33%. This study shows that the simple and economical methods of water rinsing of tuna and cottage cheese and of heating green beans in tap water markedly lowered salt content.