Salt levels are under more scrutiny than ever before, particularly when it comes to products aimed at children.

It's a tricky issue for manufacturers as salt has always been a fundamental part of the traditional cheese-making process, suppressing as it does harmful micro-organisms and making the product safe to eat by creating an environment in which 'good' micro-organisms can flourish. So complying with the FSA targets for salt reduction has been challenging for cheesemakers, but it's a challenge they've risen to.

As well as reducing salt across the entire Dairylea range by one third between 2002 and 2004, Kraft relaunched Dairylea Slices in November 2007 with 13% less salt than in 2006 and in September 2008, it relaunched Dairylea Light Slices with 18% less salt.

"The salt GDA for a child of five to 10 years old is 4g," says a spokeswoman for Kraft. "Therefore, a portion of Dairylea, such as a 17.5g Triangle, now contains 10% of a child's GDA of salt."

Kraft will continue to make improvements focused on reducing salt, she adds.

Kerry Foods, maker of the Cheestrings brand, has also cut the level of salt in its cheeses by up to one third and plans to reduce the salt content in its core product by a further 5% in 2010.

New launch Cheestrings Shots, which has grown sales steadily since launch in August, contains "virtually identical levels of salt" as the core product.

Over at Bel UK, salt content in The Laughing Cow Light has been reduced over the years, and, says innovation and research manager Rosie Tapp: "We are confident we will soon implement a further reduction."

In May, the FSA set new tougher salt targets for 2012 in categories such as processed cheese, where it believes there is scope for cheesemakers to reduce salt levels further still.

Focus On Cheese