Salt is an essential ingredient in food manufacturing, necessary for preservation, fl avour enhancement, food structure and other functions. However, high intake of sodium can lead to increased blood pressure/hypertension – one of the primary contributors to cardiovascular disease. Manufacturers, unsurprisingly, are coming under pressure to switch to sodium substitutes or reduce overall sodium levels in their products. Martin Morris speaks to industry specialists to fi nd out what’s being done.
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n the face of it, the increasing need to promote salt reduction, as well as scaling up salt substitutes, reflects not only the science behind it but also a growing consumer awareness that there is a problem. Yet far too many people are consuming too much of it in their diets – even if sodium in moderation is an essential nutrient for the maintenance of plasma volume, acid-base balance, transmission of nerve impulses and normal cell function, for example.