Packaged foods contain too much salt. Reiterating the alarm that the international scientific community has been repeating for years is research conducted by‘Process Alimentaire,’ a French agribusiness journal, which highlights the urgency of reformulating processed food recipes.
A comparison of 341 products purchased in 8 different large-scale retail chains showed that the food industry’s recipes are still impervious to the repeated recommendations of health institutions worldwide, which suggest not to exceed the daily intake of 5 grams of salt (in France, 8 g for men and 6.5 for women) to prevent hypertension and cardiovascular disease. One serving of packaged dumplings is enough to consume 58 percent of the recommended daily salt intake.
The road ahead has two lanes. Initiate serious reformulation of recipes and conduct nutrition education initiatives. As Italy has begun to do. Based on the‘Gaining Health‘ campaign promoted in 2010 by the Italian Ministry of Health, bakers’ associations have initiated the gradual reduction of the amount of added salt in bread, a food widely present in the diet of Italians.
