With all the talk of salt sodium and heart disease, I have a hard time even picking up a salt shaker anymore without grabbing my chest, gasping for air and seeing my life flash before my eyes! It’s no wonder Americans have grown increasingly fond of salt. According to American Salt Institute, “Salt intake has increased by 50% over a period of 15 years beginning in the late 1980’s.” If that’s not impressive, I don’t know what is!
So what does this mean for food service? Well, considering that 77% of salt consumption is found in process food, I’d say it’s going to become a real problem. As the public becomes increasingly aware of this issue and the severity of its consequences if ignored (i.e. heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, high blood pressure, obesity, ad infinitum), the entire food industry is going to be in a heap of trouble. My company is actively working with food companies trying to get ahead of the curve by reformulating high sodium products before we see mandatory FDA policies making it necessary to do so.
QSRs are in a unique position to learn a lesson from these food companies in that as the consumer tide turns against salt intake, the race will be on for consumers to find restaurants that offer low sodium menu items. If you consider that one-third of all Americans already suffer from health issues related to high blood pressure, then it stands to reason that there is going to be a tremendous market for these low sodium options. If QSRs meet this challenge head on, they will not only win points with consumers for their care and concern, but also for their transparency and trust.
Want to Learn More? Check out our website!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
“Easy on the salt” Comments
Campaigns against salt have made me doubt its necessity too. I am reminded then, of innumerable studies on salt and its effects on blood pressure which only confirm the interaction between the two are altered by variables like race, age etc. Low salt foods make the assumption that a global approach to salt reduction is the most effective when it is not
We in the food, nutrition and public health arena are familiar with numbers like 77% of salt consumption from processed food, 2,300 mg the maximum daily sodium intake for health adults and 1500 mg of sodium for hypertensive adults, middle aged population etc. Numbers are relevant as its shift informs us of a change in the publics psyche.
In public health we are more interested in incremental but sustained change in public behavior. That is the only way to produce long term results. Producing low-salt product preparing for a public health crisis in hypertension does make short term sense. But in the long term will low-salt foods die a natural death like the low fat foods of the recent past? The human body has several internal gauges that ensure our survival. The thirst reflex, the suckling reflex in babies and the craving for fats and salt when it is restricted. As you prepare to ride this wave of low fat food demand of the future it would be helpful to know if processed foods with low sodium can make a sustained and long term change in the publics food habits. What would prevent a consumer from adjusting the salt content of a purchased product? The long term survival of a product would be better served if companies began by asking what is best for our customers health rather than how to tailor our product to the most recent trends.
For accurate information on salt intake and health please visit http://www.salthealth.org/
GKumar
Post a Comment