|
salt association |
| press office | |||
|
|
releases 31/10/2008 'Stop the salt bullying' call to FSA THE UK’s salt industry today (31st October) attacked the Government’s Food Standards Agency for “bullying” food manufacturers with scientifically unsound salt reduction targets while ignoring the very real risk to food safety and to public health. The criticism comes from the Salt Association is its consultation response to the FSA’s latest round of salt reduction targets for manufactured food. General Secretary, Peter Sherratt, warns that “blind pursuit of meaningless targets is putting a time bomb under public health”. The association is calling for urgent large-scale, long-term trials to end the debate. In the meantime, it says an assessment is needed to understand the risks associated with the Government's blanket advice to reduce salt. “Over the past five years, the FSA has placed UK food manufacturers under unprecedented pressure to reduce salt in processed foods,” says Mr Sherratt. “They are being bullied by the FSA and by the anti-salt lobby, which uses name and shame tactics that are irresponsible and inappropriate. At the same time, they are ignoring the growing weight of independent expert opinion showing that their science is shoddy.” He added: “There is now general agreement that the revised targets go too far and put food safety at risk. Sadly, they also render food increasingly bland and have taken away some of the basic enjoyment. “The health of a nation is at stake; before imposing new salt reduction targets, the FSA has a duty to prove that its policy is not risking the lives of some, or all, of the population. All work on salt reduction and targets should be abandoned until this is complete.” The Salt Association points to a growing tide of independent expert opinion saying that the FSA may have “got it wrong on salt”. It includes a review of medical evidence on salt, by Dr Joel Dunning, a specialist registrar at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough. His team studied no fewer than 462 research papers from around the world and found no conclusive proof of a link between salt and heart attacks and strokes. Dr Dunning says there has been “a lack of adequately powered randomised trials or observational studies conducted with sufficient rigour”. His report supports the view that eating less salt may benefit people with abnormally high blood pressure. It dismisses, however, the theory that salt can cause strokes and heart attacks as “an argument of hope over reason”. In his view, organisations such as the Food Standards Agency have simply accepted “received wisdom” on the subject without checking the evidence. Other newly published material includes studies showing that reducing salt intake significantly may trigger premature ageing of arteries as well as damaging the heart and kidneys. There is also growing evidence showing that some population groups are actually at risk from cutting back on salt. To date, the FSA’s blanket advice to the public fails to acknowledge that there are those for whom low salt levels could be dangerous and even life-threatening. These groups include:
Proof that population sodium restriction is ineffective comes from Finland, the one country that has already gone down the road the UK Government is following. Its aggressive 25-year anti-salt campaign resulted in a reduction in average daily consumption from 14g to 8g a day by 2000. Yet the increase in life expectancy and the reduction in heart disease and population blood pressure were substantially less than that achieved in the US, where average salt consumption had actually risen. Comments made to Salt Association members by customers reveals growing concern about food safety as a result of reductions in salt content. Salt has a vital preservative function in many foods and concerns have been expressed by food manufacturers that further reductions could result in potentially fatal outbreaks of botulism. The SA says that any change in formulation, processing or storage conditions means product safety and shelf life must be re-evaluated and action must be taken if new hazards are identified.
“Customers are genuinely concerned about the potential risk to public health,” says Peter Sherratt. “The safety of food must obviously be paramount - ignoring such warnings could have devastating consequences.” The Salt Association also points to growing evidence showing that some reduced-salt foods have gone beyond the limits of consumer acceptability in terms of their taste. The British Sandwich Association says that retailers are complaining that sandwiches have become “bland” and consumers may soon prefer to make them at home where they can add their own salt. Manufacturers of soups and other products are similarly finding that their reduced-salt offerings fail to meet customers’ taste demands and there are indications that consumers are now adding extra salt at the table to compensate for the lack of flavour. Ends Notes to editors
|
|
 |
releases