“To eat is a necessity, but to
eat intelligently is an art.”
La Rochefoucauld
Salt: Invisible risk
“Health is not everything,
but without health everything
is nothing.”
Arthur Schopenhauer European Salt
Reduction Initiative
“The greatest wealth is
health.” Virgil
http://health.europa.eu
Reducing Excessive Salt – a priority action for the
EU
In 2007, the European Commission adopted a Strategy
for Europe on Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity related
health issues. The strategy calls for an integrated
approach, involving many partners at national and local
level, from the public and private sectors in diverse
areas such as: food and drink, transport, education and
advertising. Poor nutrition, overweight and obesity are
known to be some of the main causes of heart disease,
type 2 diabetes, stroke, certain cancers and high blood
pressure.
The strategy identified the reduction of excessive salt
consumption as an important area for action. This is due
to the fact that high salt consumption in a population
increases blood pressure levels in that population.
Globally, 7 million people die every year due to high blood
pressure. Many of these deaths could be prevented by
less salt intake.
What is the situation across Europe?
It is estimated that one quarter of Europe’s population
suffers from high blood pressure. One of the important
factors causing high blood pressure is excessive use of salt.
Daily intake of salt across Europe ranges from 8-11g. This is
above the national recommended levels of intake for every
European country. About, 70-75% of this salt comes from
eating processed foods, whilst only 10-15% comes from the
addition of salt when cooking or at the table.
The EU Framework for National Salt Initiatives
Using the strategy as a catalyst for action, the European
Commission coordinated meetings with national
governments who called for the creation of the EU
Framework for National Salt Initiatives. This initiative
enables national governments to exchange best practice and
to explore ways to reduce heavy salt use. One example is
the use of salt reformulation in processed foods. This means
the gradual reduction in the salt content in foods over a
period of time to make the taste change hardly noticeable.
This EU framework looks for new innovative methods and
partnerships with the food industry, health associations,
researchers, doctors all with the single aim of reducing
excessive salt use in the population.
The framework’s aims
The term salt is used for communication purposes. The
nutrient that should be reduced is sodium. However, sodium is consumed overwhelmingly in the form of salt (which is sodium chloride),
the decision was taken to communicate for this initiative about ‘salt’
and not ‘sodium’, which is better understood. The amount of sodium is
multiplied by the factor 2.5 giving the equivalent amount of salt
COM (2007) 279 http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/nutrition/keydocs_nutrition_en.htm
• To contribute towards reduced salt intake at
population level and aim towards national or WHO
recommended salt levels (WHO recommends no more than
5g/day).
• To support and reinforce national salt reduction
plans, enabling comparison of progress across the EU while
maintaining flexibility for countries to shape their own
national approaches.
• To give coordinated messages for reformulation of
food products to the industry across Europe
• To bring European countries together to work as
a large group towards this common goal, exchange best
practice, and consider this initiative as an example of further
cooperation in the nutrition field.
The 5 key elements in the EU Framework for
National Salt Initiatives
• Developing reliable data on salt consumption,
and current salt levels of foods at national and European
level;
• Agreeing national benchmarks for salt reduction
in specific food categories. The overall EU benchmark is
over 4 years a minimum 16% reduction of salt in food.
However, countries can choose their own benchmarks
for lowering salt based on their national situation and
should focus on at least 5 categories of food. Most
countries have chosen to focus on bread, meat products,
cheeses and ready meals.
• Working with food producers to reduce salt
by reformulating their products, gradually lowering
salt content allows for taste to adapt while using other
flavours and spices to keep a good taste;
• Raising public awareness on the health risks of
excessive salt consumption;
• Monitoring and evaluating the results of the EU
framework for national salt initiative.
What can I do?
• Use less salt while cooking.
• Replace salt with spices.
• Eat less processed meals which are high in salt.
• Take the salt shaker off the dining table.
• Eat more foods that are lower in salt (fresh fruit
and vegetables).
• When buying processed food, read the label
and choose the lower sodium/salt alternatives.
For More Information
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/
nutrition/nutrition_en.htm