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It's
time to tackle salt
Feb 25, 2009
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
In
a victory for public health – and after decades-long
pressure from consumer advocates – artery clogging trans
fat has all but disappeared from packaged foods in the U.S.
New and threatened state and federal laws and regulatory actions
finally forced food manufacturers to find ways to get the
trans fat out.
It wasn’t easy.
Food companies had to work hard to find suitable replacements
for the manufactured fat that made pie crusts flaky and gave
the right mouth feel to our favorite store-bought cookies
and crackers.
So, trans fat is out. Mostly.
Now, however, that nutrition policy success seems like little
more than the warm-up act for a movement to take on a much
tougher target: Salt.
Just as in the case of trans fat, political will appears to
be building in support of increased government pressures on
the food industry to radically reduce the sodium added to
our food.
And just like in the case of trans fat, this comes after decades
of pressure from consumer groups such as the Center for Science
in the Public Interest. In 2005, the group published an influential
report, “Salt: The Forgotten Killer,” and petitioned
the Food and Drug Administration to remove salt from the “generally
recognized as safe” or GRAS list.
Science supports the move.
High sodium intakes are associated with higher blood pressure
and greater risk of heart disease and stroke.
For years, national dietary recommendations have urged consumers
to cut back on their intakes of salty foods. That’s
a particular challenge for most of us, though, considering
how widespread the use of sodium is in just about every processed
or packaged food we buy.
We eat an unnaturally large amount of sodium.
Sodium, a major component of table salt, is added to foods
in the forms of numerous additives such as monosodium glutamate
and nitrites. It’s particularly prevalent in processed
foods such as frozen entrees, pasta sauce, canned soups and
processed cheeses and meats.
Restaurant meals are also loaded with sodium.
Like trans fat, a small amount of sodium also occurs in foods
naturally. Whereas trans fats are found naturally in meats
and dairy products, sodium is found naturally in vegetables,
grain products and milk.
Naturally occurring sodium only accounts for about 10 percent
of the sodium most of us get in our diets, though, which is
more than enough to meet our bodies’ needs.
And also like trans fat, sodium has for years played an important
role in commercial food production.
Both prolong the shelf-life of packaged foods.
And in the case of sodium, it adds the salty flavor most of
us have developed a preference for in our foods.
You may not even notice how accustomed you are to the taste
of salt.
Try a cup of low-sodium soup or low-sodium, canned vegetable
juice, and you’ll be aware of the difference right away.
Our preference for salty flavor can be gradually deprogrammed,
though, if we switch to lower-sodium foods.
Our palates are about to get that opportunity.
Campbell’s soup company announced this month that it
is reformulating its famous tomato soup to reduce the sodium
content by about one third. The new formula will replace the
original formula in supermarkets beginning in August.
Reductions in sodium in other of the company’s products
are also planned.
Will other companies follow Campbell’s lead?
Let’s hope so.
And in the meantime, consumer groups and health professionals
will continue to advocate for change. Our health depends on
it.
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