Food firms resist drive to curb salt

Efforts to reduce harmful salt consumption in food are running into a "brick wall", the chief food scientist at the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has warned.

Significant strides have been made in reducing the salt content in bread and meat products, according to Dr Wayne Anderson of the FSAI. However, attempts to get further reductions are meeting with resistance from food manufacturers.

Bakers and meat processors say there are limits to the salt they can remove from their products. They have also expressed concern about increased competition from foreign competitors who are not affected by the campaign to reduce salt content in food products.

The authority is hoping to reduce the average daily salt intake by Irish adults from the present level of 10g per day to 6g by 2010. Half our salt intake comes from bread and meat, so the FSAI's campaign has focused on these two sectors.

High salt intake contributes to hypertension which is an important contributory factor to heart disease, responsible for almost half the annual deaths in Ireland.

Dr Anderson said the response from industry to its salt reduction campaign has been encouraging, with over 70 food manufacturers, retailers, caterers and representative bodies making commitments.

"No one has said 'No' but there have been stragglers."

Fast-food chain Burger King had failed to respond to several approaches from the FSAI, but last week it replied saying it was a franchise operation and offered to put the authority in touch with its UK head office.

Salt levels in white and brown bread have been cut by 10 per cent since 2004 but only one baker, Irish Pride, has extended the reductions to all its bread products.

Dr Anderson said companies were worried about the abolition of the Groceries Order and the possibility of a price war. One way to effect further reduction in salt content safely would be to reduce the shelf life of products where they are sold. "However, I don't think we have a hope of changing the buying policies of the main supermarkets," Dr Anderson said.