U.S. Foodmakers Asked to Cut the Salt

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

03 Dec 2007 12:54 PM

Most people in America eat two teaspoons of salt every day. That's more than twice what your body needs to be healthy! And no, most of us aren't getting all that salt out of a shaker. We're not snacking on salt-pops or drinking salt soda. More than three-fourths of the salt in the American diet comes from common processed foods.

Health experts and advocates are concerned. They are hoping that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will respond to a petition asking for government intervention in regulating sodium levels. The Center for Science in the Public Interest filed the petition with the FDA, convinced that the high level of sodium in the American diet is one of the biggest health threats to the public.

But it is a health threat that can be reduced. A spokesman for the American Medical Association said that cutting half the sodium in processed and restaurant foods could save many lives every year. Within ten years, according to the AMA, cutting sodium in half could be saving 150,000 lives annually.

Food makers have met with representatives from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, but some aren't ready to cut that much salt. Manufacturers say there just isn't a tasty alternative. The salt content of many foods has come down over the years, and food makers aren't sure it can go any lower without consumer backlash.

ConAgra is one food manufacturer who has been working on cutting the salt. Starting with popular brands for kids, ConAgra has been reducing sodium content by eighteen to twenty percent over the last few years. They didn't publicize the change for a variety of reasons. Too often, "low salt" is equated with "low taste" in the consumer mind. But nobody has complained about the changes to Chef Boyardee, Marie Calender, Banquet, and other ConAgra brands.

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