A Taste of Wellness for Savoury and Snacks
Givaudan
The UK Food Standards Agency was behind a nationwide initiative this week to urge people to reduce their salt intake. A host of events were held by health professionals around the country to encourage people to become more salt aware as part of National Salt Awareness Day on 29 January.
FSA Chairman, Sir John Krebs, supported the initiative, saying: 'Lowering the salt intake in people's diets is a vital step towards combating coronary heart disease - one of the UK's biggest killers.'
Krebs held the baking industry up as responsible example when he added, "The Food Standards Agency is pleased that the UK bread industry has achieved significant reductions in the levels of salt in bread. We now want to see this example followed by others in the food industry. The Agency is discussing with the food industry ways of reducing salt in other processed food.'
Run by the salt action group, Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH), this is the third year National Salt Awareness Day has taken place.
In 2001, the Agency praised the food industry after a recent FSA survey showed that there is up to 21 per cent less sodium in bread than there was in 1998.
The Agency advises that we eat less than 6 grams of salt a day, but the current average is about 9 grams. According to the FSA processed foods are targeted as the biggest culprit, providing, on average, three-quarters of the salt we eat.