Action on Salt demands labeling restrictions on sodium-packed “healthy snacks”

09 Mar 2021 --- In light of Salt Awareness Week (March 8-14), researchers at UK lobby group Action on Salt (AoS) are calling for a restriction on the use of “misleading” nutrition claims on foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS).

A new AoS product survey found over half (55 percent) of “healthy” snacks are considered HFSS foods, but most snacks do not display color-coded labeling on front-of-pack.

NutritionInsight speaks with Symrise, a specialist flavor and salt reduction, on the need to lower salt in health-haloed savory snacks and its taste challenges.

“The rise of nutrition labeling and the introduction of new legislative measures around HFSS foods and Public Health England’s salt targets create a reformulation need for many market products,” says Regine Lueghausen, vice president global marketing flavor division. 

“In the UK, these measures will impact the placement of snacks in supermarkets, for example whether to place them near the checkout or not. It will also affect their participation in in-store promotion, advertising (e.g. on TV only after 9 PM) and on-pack labeling.” 

Breaking down the findings
The analysis was performed on 119 snacks, including dried or roasted pulses and processed pulse snacks (lentil curls, chickpea chips and puffs).

These are often perceived as healthy alternatives to the usual snacking options, such as potato chips and flavored nuts. 

The findings raise serious concerns, according to AoS, especially given reports of increased snacking during 2020 compared to the pre-COVID-19 era. 

Despite these products on average being lower in fat, saturated fat and calories, and higher in fiber compared to standard chips and flavored nuts, 43 percent are also high in salt (more than 1.5 g/100 g).

Action on Salt in the UK has found more than half of health-positioned snacks are high in salt in a new product survey.Why on-pack claims might be misleading
Furthermore, 81 percent of snacks surveyed include a nutrient-based claim on pack, such as x kcal per serving, less fat, no added sugar, source/high in fiber/protein.

Almost all (95 percent) include claims such as gluten-free, vegan, all-natural and no artificial preservatives.

For example, the saltiest snack surveyed, Eat Real Hummus Chilli & Lemon Flavored Chips contains 3.6 g salt/100 g, and yet the front of pack states “40% less fat, vegan, gluten-free.”

“This important survey has put a spotlight on the unnecessary amounts of salt in ‘healthy’ snacks, and the use of nutrition claims on HFSS foods need to be questioned,” affirms Sonia Pombo, AoS campaign manager. 

“Instead of misleading their customers, companies should be doing all they can to help us all make more informed decisions, including using front of pack color-coded labels,” Pombo maintains. 

Formulating for health
The survey results are perhaps not surprising, considering that value-added ingredients like protein and fiber enrichment “often goes hand-in-hand with less favorable taste,” observes Lueghausen. 

Next to reformulating snack seasonings, Symrise also partners with food manufacturers to optimize the respective snack base, while leveraging insights from its Taste Balancing ecosystem with research institutions. 

The program covers a wide array of snack bases and taste sensations, like umami and mouthfeel.

Trending pulse-based products are a joint research topic of Symrise with Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands.

“Healthier, novel snacking formats, such as baked or so-called ‘popped’ products or vegetable snacks can pose new challenges. Consumers tend to perceive them as dry, causing an unpleasant mouthfeel,” she adds. 

Pombo from AoS warns: “We should all be eating more beans and pulses, but there are better ways of doing it. Eating processed snacks high in salt is not one of them.” 

Symrise tackles this challenge by leveraging its ProtiScan program to identify and overcome off-notes in plant-based ingredients, helping snack manufacturers produce healthier choices lower in salt. 

How much is enough? 
While the UK government has taken measures to inform the consumer on healthier snack choices through its traffic light labeling scheme, the AoS claims these measures are not enough. 

The organization points out that while the UK government has recently announced plans to restrict the promotion of some unhealthy food, it is not clear whether snacks high in salt will be included in the program. 

The new measures are largely targeting foods that fall under the current sugar and calorie reduction programs. 

AoS points out that salt is a “forgotten ingredient” that raises blood pressure and can increase risk of strokes and heart attacks.  

The organization urges the UK government to help bring down salt levels across all food.

By Missy Green