Salt reduction
and the choices made by manufacturers and the public alike.
The average person in the US consumes 3,400mg of salt each day, 50% more than the recommended 2,300mg.
notice a change in taste. But, he says, those two measures alone would help reach the target and positively impact human health. “You get a double or triple benefit by reducing sodium, increasing potassium and improving the sodium-to-potassium ratio,” he says.
There are some concerns about the risks of potassium consumption for people with kidney problems, though, but as Frieden says, there needs to be some perspective. “If you have kidney failure, you shouldn’t eat a banana either. A day of low sodium salt gives you about as much potassium as a banana. So, I don’t mean to minimise the potential risk for people with undiagnosed kidney failure.”
“Salt is a serious problem. We don’t think of it like pesticide or salmonella contamination, but it actually kills a lot more of your customers.”
Chemical confusion 700,000
The number of deaths related to heart disease in those aged 70 and older that could be prevented if the salt reduction target was met.
Resolve to Save Lives 76
One argument for not replacing sodium with other ingredients has been that consumers would likely not want to see nor understand the chemicals used to replace it with on the back of their packets. But, Frieden agrees, such a point is largely a red herring. He says not many people use the information on packaging, nor do they understand it in any case. But packaging could help play a big role on other ways. One development he believes is having a huge impact is the black stop sign, first used in Chile. Since its introduction in 2016, the mark has alerted Chilean consumers to excessive ingredients including salt, sugar and saturated fats, with the words ‘alto en’ or high in placed on octagonal black labels on packaging. The concept has since spread to Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Israel. Frieden welcomes the impact they’ve had, suggesting they have helped change both options
“What we found is that very quickly companies reformulated to meet the standard and very quickly consumers changed what they bought,” he says. “So, after decades of pleading with companies to change and hectoring people to choose healthier foods, actually Chile initially – and then other countries – have come up with a way to do it.” Albeit it’s not a solution that is popular with industry, he suggests: “Anything that says ‘eat less’ is not good for the bottom line… but it’s clear that the black stop sign that says ‘too high in sodium’ has resulted in something like a third of products being reformulated within months.” Chile’s decision was predominantly taken to drive down levels of obesity. In the middle of the past decade the country’s Ministry of Health warned that two-thirds (67%) of those aged 15 and over were obese. At the same time the country’s leading causes of death were cardiac ailments and cancers, specifically stomach and gallbladder – arguably lifestyle related – which accounted for half of all recorded deaths.
Latin America leading
The success of the policy and its replication among Chile’s Latin American neighbours proved government action could help elicit change. But, warns Frieden, there has to be that level playing field he previously spoke of. “If there is a society wide policy, it’s going to be easier for you [manufacturers] to make the changes,” he says. It’s a view he supports by saying if one company acts in isolation, there’s a risk of that having a negative impact – perhaps hitting its market share, for example. But if all change together, such issues are diminished. It’s a level playing field, achieved through by regulation, that “gets you there” he says. “The industry may not like it but stop signs and warning labels are the best practice,” he adds. “With all due respect for industry, we usually hear ‘it’s impossible, we can’t make that change’. Then when the change becomes inevitable, it’s a lot easier than even the industry thought.” As parts of Latin America have shown in current time, warning labels can help cut sodium consumption dramatically and manufacturers in that region are now actively taking steps to avoid having those labels on their packaging, reducing sodium usage voluntarily. Whatever the answer, there is a clear and growing need to find it. “Salt is a serious problem,” concludes Frieden. “We don’t think of it like pesticide or salmonella contamination, but it actually kills a lot more of your customers... If we just step back for a minute, by the best available estimates excess sodium consumption is the single deadliest problem with our food.” ●
Ingredients Insight /
www.ingredients-insight.com
Angelus_Svetlana/
Shutterstock.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
