from Name and address supplied
Sir; I work with a large number of food manufacturers and discuss various projects such as the reduction of salt, so I read the article ‘Confused government health advice blasted’ (The Grocer, July 17, p12) with interest.
I do agree there are products out there which contain higher levels of salt than needed. This does make salt levels an issue with some suppliers and with some products.
However, the government does not seem to have grasped the functionality of salt in many other products.
If you take certain products and remove or reduce the salt by certain levels, does the government realise we will be left with something that does not look or taste like it used to?
Then there are the additions of other ingredients to make up the loss of volume and taste.
I believe it’s about time the government looked into these issues before demanding who should remove salt from what.
Salt is not just a flavour enhancer, it is also a functional ingredient which provides preservation.
But even if this issue is dealt with properly, the government still hasn’t looked into one other big issue: the use of salt at home. If you reduce the salt levels in some products, consumers will add salt back at their end.
Has the government thought of this yet? Has there been any research done into who adds salt to their foods, and to what? For example, a proportion of the country will salt vegetables or pasta when cooking. How can manufacturers resolve that? They can’t. That is an education issue, and is also connected with our country’s developed palate.
So in my opinion, that is a government responsibility, not the duty of manufacturers.
But what about when the issue of salt has been solved to the government’s desire?
Then it will be an attack on high sugar and/or fat products.
I agree with Asda regulatory affairs manager Gordon Maddan’s call for an approach that includes all the health elements of a product. The government needs to work with suppliers, independent food scientists/technologists and consumers to find the real source of the problem and where it occurs.
Don’t just blame the manufacturers. We are all to blame at the end of the day and products are never developed unless there is a demand from the consumer.
Sir; I work with a large number of food manufacturers and discuss various projects such as the reduction of salt, so I read the article ‘Confused government health advice blasted’ (The Grocer, July 17, p12) with interest.
I do agree there are products out there which contain higher levels of salt than needed. This does make salt levels an issue with some suppliers and with some products.
However, the government does not seem to have grasped the functionality of salt in many other products.
If you take certain products and remove or reduce the salt by certain levels, does the government realise we will be left with something that does not look or taste like it used to?
Then there are the additions of other ingredients to make up the loss of volume and taste.
I believe it’s about time the government looked into these issues before demanding who should remove salt from what.
Salt is not just a flavour enhancer, it is also a functional ingredient which provides preservation.
But even if this issue is dealt with properly, the government still hasn’t looked into one other big issue: the use of salt at home. If you reduce the salt levels in some products, consumers will add salt back at their end.
Has the government thought of this yet? Has there been any research done into who adds salt to their foods, and to what? For example, a proportion of the country will salt vegetables or pasta when cooking. How can manufacturers resolve that? They can’t. That is an education issue, and is also connected with our country’s developed palate.
So in my opinion, that is a government responsibility, not the duty of manufacturers.
But what about when the issue of salt has been solved to the government’s desire?
Then it will be an attack on high sugar and/or fat products.
I agree with Asda regulatory affairs manager Gordon Maddan’s call for an approach that includes all the health elements of a product. The government needs to work with suppliers, independent food scientists/technologists and consumers to find the real source of the problem and where it occurs.
Don’t just blame the manufacturers. We are all to blame at the end of the day and products are never developed unless there is a demand from the consumer.
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