At present health authorities are depending on education and a voluntary approach to cut down on dietary salt. From now on they are urging the government to set mandatory salt limits for food. According to a study from the University of Queensland there are more than one ways to tackle the dietary salt problem which is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease in Australia.
The researchers looked at the current Australian food programme called ‘Tick’ that enables food manufacturers to buy an endorsed logo for use on product packaging for voluntarily reducing their salt content.
Dr Linda Cobiac, from the university's School of Population Health said, “Programs to encourage the food industry to reduce salt in processed foods...are an excellent investment.” She explained that analysis showed the existing “incentive-based” approach had delivered some cuts to salt in popular foods. “However...government intervention to make moderate salt limits mandatory for all manufacturers could achieve 20 times the health benefits for the Australian population,” she added.
The authors write, “High blood pressure is the leading cause of mortality from cardiovascular disease. Diets high in salt have been linked to high blood pressure levels and increased risk of stroke and cardiovascular outcomes…Salt is a cheap ingredient for food manufacturers and is not essential at such high levels. There is no evidence of harm from small and gradual salt reductions…Salt is added to processed foods for many reasons; to entice further consumption, to bulk a product up cheaply by increasing water-holding capacity, or to promote drink sales by increasing thirst.”
The latest study also assessed the effectiveness of providing only dietary advice to those most at risk - such as those with high blood pressure - alongside the current voluntary approach and also the move to mandatory salt limits. Results showed that 610,000 years of healthy life could be gained if every Australian reduced their intake to the recommended limit of no more than six grams of salt per day. Dietary advice alone was found to reduce the nation's salt-related disease burden by less than half of one per cent, and it was “not cost-effective”. So the voluntary move was less than 1% effective while mandatory move was found to produce an 18 per cent reduction in salt-related ill health. Dr Cobiac said that at present 94 per cent of Australian men and 64 per cent of women exceeded their recommended daily salt intake.
She added, “Food manufacturers have a responsibility to make money for their shareholders, but they also have a responsibility to society…If corporate responsibility fails, maybe there is an ethical justification for government to step in and legislate.”
The research is published online in the journal Heart.
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