Food giant Unilever on a worthy mission to reduce salt in all products

The Anglo-Dutch food giant Unilever has announced plans to reduce the amount of salt in almost all its 22,000 food products - Unilever says its efforts to establish comprehensive salt reduction targets will help improve public health and are a first worldwide.

This is not a strictly new initiative for the food giant as in 2003 a group assembled by Unilever which included Heinz, Baxter's, Campbell's and Pataks, with the support of the food industry's trade association, the Food & Drink Federation committed to a three-year programme, with the aim of reducing salt by 10% in 2003, to be followed by similar reductions over the next two years, subject to consumer acceptance.

Unilever says the aim is to reduce the salt content of its products by the end of 2010 to help people reach the daily recommended dietary intake of six grams of salt per person and a further reduction set for 2015 would lower the target to five grams, a goal in line with World Health Organization guidelines.

Unilever says it is the first food company that has set worldwide goals for salt reduction across its entire product range and while the new plan is "ambitious", the targets could and should be met to avert cardiovascular disease and deaths blamed on high salt intake.

Unilever says the challenge will be achieving these results without compromising on the flavour, quality and shelf life of their products - they will replace salt with aromatic herbs and other spices.

Salt is combination of sodium and chloride and is a common food ingredient used for taste and food preservation - it comes as table salt, sea salt, rock salt and flakes, which are likely to vary in the way they taste.

Sodium is an essential mineral for balancing water levels in the body and regulating nerve impulses and muscle contractions but too much can promote high blood pressure.

Salt used sparingly does have health benefits - it is used for iodine fortification in many developing countries where iodine deficiency is the main cause of potentially preventable mental retardation in childhood, as well as causing goitre (thyroid swelling) and hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) in people of all ages.

Unilever says processed foods, together with food that is prepared outside the home, account for over 75% of the salt in our diet and concerns have grown around the links between salt intake and diseases such as hypertension.

Unilever believes that as a major manufacturer the company has a responsibility to address these concerns in a proactive way and their previous efforts did see a number of other leading manufacturers of branded soups and sauces cut salt in their products - a 10% reduction across Knorr soups, Chicken Tonight, Ragu, and Colman's sauces was achieved in 2003.

Unilever says consumers will be more likely to adapt their taste preference to lower levels of salt if the food industry as a whole reduces salt levels.