UK nutritionists urge Boris Johnson to prioritize mandatory salt targets for F&B industry

27 Apr 2022 --- A coalition of nutrition experts and health organizations is calling on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to prioritize mandatory, comprehensive salt reduction targets across the UK’s F&B industry. 

Compulsory reformulation with less salt would help prevent the deaths of many thousands of people by lowering blood pressure, argue the authors in the open letter.

The [UK] government must enforce its comprehensive salt reduction targets without delay,” warns Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary University, chairman of Action on Salt and lead signatory of the letter. 

“Reducing salt is the most cost-effective measure for lowering blood pressure and reducing the number of people suffering and dying from strokes, heart disease and life-changing disabilities.”

The call-to-action was signed by over 236 nutritionists, dietitians, researchers, pharmacists, nurses and GPs, including the Royal Society for Public Health, the Faculty of Public Health, Blood Pressure UK, Early Start Nutrition, Heart UK and London Early Years Foundation, plus members of the public. 

The open letter claims that gradual improvements to salt levels in processed food will not reduce sales. Voluntary targets not enough
In 2004 the Food Standards Agency successfully set voluntary salt reduction targets across more than 80 categories of processed food which led to population salt intake falling by 15% in 2011. 

The move resulted in a calculated cost saving to the NHS of £1.5 billion (US$1.9 billion) per year. However, progress has since stalled, leading to thousands of premature deaths, according to a 2015 study. 

MacGregor asserts that food companies are making “very little effort to comply with the current voluntary targets.” As a result, the amount of salt the nation eats is not falling. 

The World Action on Salt, Sugar and Health has previously warned that mandatory targets are the only way to guarantee progress across all companies and products. 

Moreover, mandatory targets would ensure a level playing field for F&B brands that may be concerned lower salt levels would make them less competitive in the market. 

Overcoming fears  
The open letter points out that “gradual, unobtrusive improvements to processed food do not lead to loss of sales.” 

The public will continue to buy their usual food and drinks while benefiting from the nutritionally improved products, the health professionals write. 

Reducing salt can be complex in products like bread and processed meat.Reducing salt to lower the incidence of stroke and heart disease is also easier to achieve than other measures to reduce health conditions like obesity, they note. 

“Decades of very strong evidence tell us unequivocally that salt increases blood pressure. It has an immediate and large impact, and the small costs involved are borne by the food industry.”

South Africa’s successful case study
Earlier this year, evidence from South Africa revealed that most products were able to comply with mandatory salt targets in just five years. This achieved a large fall in population salt intake, with the biggest falls occurring in the most deprived groups. 

In light of the government’s “leveling up”’ ambitions and the imminent release of a white paper detailing measures to address health disparities, mandatory salt targets would help ensure the government meets those ambitions.

Putting it into practice
One of the ways food companies can immediately lower high blood pressure risks in their F&B is by swapping out some sodium for potassium. 

However, depending on the food application, lowering salt is not always easy, for example, in the case of bread. 

Lowering sodium in meat products may also jeopardize food safety, as salt has been traditionally used to keep pathogenic bacteria at bay. 

As pressure mounts to reduce sodium levels both for public health and to improve front-of-pack labeling scores, industry continues to develop new ingredients and techniques to maintain taste and preservation functionality with less salt. 

By Missy Green