Miia
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 Posted: 03/20/07 - 16:49 Post subject: Warning over hidden salt in foods |
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Campaigners who are promoting less salt intake are satisfied with the fact that more and more people have been cutting on their salt intakes but they report problem was still present as many people do not remember to check for hidden salt in foods.
They say that three-quarters of the salt we eat is already contained in the food we buy like sandwiches, ready meals, pasta sauce and pizza, which are some of the biggest sources of "hidden" salt.
In their new round of TV ads campaigners are showing consumers how to check food labels for salt content as salt levels vary and there’s always a lower salt option.
Main sources of salt in people’s diets in UK are bread, breakfast cereals, biscuits, cakes and meat products such as bacon and sausages.
The survey showed that only 40% of people checked the label for salt content when buying food. Just fourteen percent of study participants knew that pack of food with 1g of sodium contained more salt than one with 1g of salt while fifty percent mistakenly believed they had the same salt content.
A good think is that four in ten people reported making special efforts in cutting salt intake. This is 18% increase since the campaign started back in 2004. Most of the people, large 90% were cutting salt intake by not adding salt to their foods, 15% alone were checking for labels and 12% were buying less processed foods.
In the overall picture, salt consumption is going down. The average is now 9g comparing to 9.5g in 2001. However, this is still far from the ideal 6g targeted by Government by the end of 2010.
In order to achieve this goal, industries will be encouraged to offer consumers healthier choices and consumers to drive demand for those healthier choices. |
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