Salt consumption falling but still 50 per cent higher than advised
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Salt consumption in Britain has dropped but is still on average 50 per cent higher than the recommended amount, new research claims. Tests on 1,287 adults showed their average salt intake was 9g per day compared to 9.5g when tests were done in 2001.
But consumption is still higher than the Government’s national target of 6g per day, the Food Standards Agency said.
The urinary sodium tests carried out in 2005-06 showed men consumed an average 10.2g of salt per day compared to 11g in 2001.
Women’s average intake was less at 7.6g per day - down from 8.1g in 2005/06.
The results follow a Food Standards Agency campaign encouraging people to cut their salt intake. The campaign warns that 75 per cent of salt eaten in Britain is found in processed food.
The agency’s chair, Dame Deirdre Hutton, said: “[The] urinary sodium results illustrate the progress that is being made in reducing the nation’s daily salt intake.
“However, there is still some way to go before we reach the 6g target and we all now need to build on this to ensure that the downward trend continues.”
The agency’s campaign follows a scientific report published in 2003 which said reducing Briton’s salt intake would lower average blood pressure, which in turn would help cut heart disease. High blood pressure is at least partly to blame for 170,000 deaths in England each year.
The campaign group Consensus Action on Salt and Health said the drop in salt consumption could prevent around 3,500 deaths per year.
The Salt Manufacturers’ Association is opposed to the FSA’s campaign, with its general secretary Peter Sherratt arguing: “If you were introducing a new drug, you would not be able to do so without the backing of proper research, so how can the Government justify changing the dietary habits of a nation when there is any doubt?”
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