Bad health not worth the salt: as I read this I started to feel spiteful

New York City

In a move intended to improve the health of Americans, a New York City-led initiative has shaken up the food service and packaged goods industries with an ambitious, but voluntary, salt reduction plan.

The National Salt Initiative, the result of a partnership between states, municipalities and national health organizations, on Monday, January 11 unveiled its proposed targets to guide restaurants and packaged food manufacturers toward a decrease in sodium.

The initiative, working off statistics that put the onus on the food industry instead of the consumer, developed two- and four-year targets to reduce salt levels in 86 categories of packaged goods and restaurant food. The foods range from canned chili and barbecue sauce to breaded seafood and burritos.

According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), only 11 percent of Americans’ sodium intake comes from their own saltshakers, while close to 80 percent comes from foods in which high levels of sodium already exist before purchase.

“Consumers can always add salt to food, but they can’t take it out,” DOHMH Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said in a statement, underscoring sodium-related health risks like high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Twenty-three thousand New Yorkers – and more than 800,000 Americans – lose their lives to those conditions every year, the DOHMH said.

The proposed four-year targets, which include sodium reductions of up to roughly 35 percent for classes of packaged foods and up to around 25 percent for restaurant categories, were the result of a yearlong series of meetings with food industry leaders. Targets are posted at nyc.gov/health/salt, and the food industry, consumer organizations and other interested parties have until February 1 to comment. The initiative will adopt final targets in the spring.

Because of the voluntary nature of the reductions, and the fact that industry insiders were included in the planning, the New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA) is applauding the initiative.

“The focus on this for the most part is not the chef in the back of the restaurant,” explained Rob Bookman, NYSRA’s New York City legislative counsel, who noted that chain eateries and manufacturers would have to take greater action to comply than non-chain restaurants.

The industry is pleased overall, Bookman said, since the National Salt Initiative does not aim to eliminate a product, nor impose fines, and there is an educational component involved.

In other words, in the absence of a mandate or any material enforcement, the industry is taking the initiative with a grain of salt.

Flagrant - War, Unemployment, Deficits and ... Salt? New York Mayor Wants Serving Reductions

New York City

Health care, unemployment, terrorism, war, deficits and ... salt?

That appears the latest controversy on the plate of at least one prominent politician.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants the Health Department to add salt to a crackdown list of foods that includes a ban on transfats and a requirement for fast food restaurants to display nutrition labels. 

Now Bloomberg wants to go nationwide, urging a ruling to limit the salt in prepared foods sold in the city by 25 percent by 2014.

Britain introduced a stealth volunteer salt reduction program 10 years ago, which has taken root and resulted in salt consumption to .30 ounces from .33 ounces per person per day. British salt reduction supporters say the crackdown has reduced by 6,000 the number of deaths per year in that country.

One area in Britain where salt was cut most was in bread. But a New York Post editorial found it odd that a mayor who salts his Saltine crackers and eats burnt-bacon-and-peanut-butter sandwiches would call for a sodium crackdown. 

Nutritionists say excessive dietary salt can cause increased blood pressure, which leads to heart disease, the No. 1 killer in America. 

Nutritionist Keri Glassman said Americans consume about double the sodium they should, and the New York plan would not prohibit people from using a salt shaker.

"They're just trying to control the amount of salt that we get in our diet that we don't even know we're getting that we find in packaged processed foods. Let us take control, if you want to add some then that's your choice, but at least have the choice," she said.

But Justin Wilson, a senior research analyst with Consumer Freedom, said the "one-size-fits-all policy" applies to only a small part of the population, and not even everyone who needs it since "only 30 percent of people with high blood pressure need to reduce their salt intake."

"I think Mayor Bloomberg fancies himself to be a big brother," Wilson told Fox News. "He's slowly but surely regulating New Yorkers' diet to be just plain old bland. And I think it's just inappropriate for the government to mandate how much salt that we can eat, especially when you consider not everyone needs to have a low-salt diet." 

Actress Suzanne Somers, a cancer survivor who's become an expert on alternative health care remedies, said sea salt actually lowers blood pressure rather than raising it. A simple switch from table salt to sea salt could make the difference in people's health as well as tamping down the ire of the city's chefs.

Dark New York City story - New York City Wants Less Salt

New York City

NEW YORK – First it was the elimination of trans fat; now, it’s sodium that New York City officials are attacking, the New York Times reports. Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg’s administration unveiled a proposal to encourage food makers and restaurant chains to curb the amount of salt in their foods.

The city says health agencies in other parts of the country support their goal of lowering sodium in packaged and restaurant food by 25 percent during the next five years. Reducing salt in foods would lower high blood pressure incidences and would probably thwart some heart attacks and strokes related to that condition, health officials say.

“We all consume way too much salt, and most of the salt we consume is in the food when we buy it,” said Dr. Thomas Farley, city health commissioner. The city health department is heading the charge for less salt. With 80 percent of salt in our diet coming from restaurant or packaged food, Farley said lowering the sodium amount in those foods would keep people healthier.

Meanwhile, food manufacturers are slashing sodium in their products, but are not emphasizing the results, the Wall Street Journal reports. The companies are discovering that consumers like it better when salt levels decline slowly over time.

For example, by 2011, ConAgra Food’s Chef Boyardee canned pasta will have 35 percent less sodium — a drop that took five years — but the lower salt will not be trumpeted on the label. Campbell Soup’s original V8 juice also quietly reduced its salt by 32 percent over an eight-year period.

“If you gradually move sodium down in products, the consumers that use those products get used to them still tasting good but at lower salt,” said Douglas Balentine, Unilever NV’s North American director of nutrition and health.

Last October, ConAgra revealed that it would reduce salt in around 80 percent of its products by an average of 20 percent by 2015, while the Sara Lee Corp. announced a comparable pledge last month.

I was shocked to hear - Salt-Loving Mayor Seeks to Trim It From NYC Diets

NYC

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg — who is known to shake salt on his pizza — is focusing on sodium as the next unhealthy enemy in his crusade to coax people into eating better.

Bloomberg's health department has already banned trans fats in restaurant meals and forced chain eateries to post calorie counts on menus. On Monday, the city set guidelines recommending maximum amounts of salt for a variety of restaurant and store-bought foods, with the goal of cutting salt levels in food by a quarter overall in five years.

"I use a lot of salt," Bloomberg admitted Monday. Despite any personal eating habits he may have, the mayor is fixated on nutrition as a public health concern.

"We're trying to extend the lives and improve the lives of people who live in this city," he said.

Unlike the city's trans fat ban and calorie count rule, the salt initiative is voluntary.

The recommendations posted on the city health department's Web site call for substantial reductions in the salt content of many products, from a 20 percent drop in peanut butter to a 40 percent decline in canned vegetables.

The targets include a 40 percent reduction in breakfast cereals and flavored snack chips, and a 25 percent reduction for cold cuts, processed cheese and salsa.

Not even the mayor's favorite foods — popcorn and hot dogs — were spared: The city wants food manufacturers to work on reducing salt by 30 percent in popcorn and 20 percent in wieners.

Health officials say Americans now eat about twice the amount of salt they should. Too much sodium contributes to high blood pressure, which can cause heart attack and stroke.

New York City's program is modeled in part after a similar initiative in Britain that has been under way since 2003.

Seventeen national health organizations and 25 other city or state health agencies have endorsed New York City's effort, called the National Salt Reduction Initiative.

Negative NYC story - Report: A&P on Board With NYC Salt Reduction Program

NYC

NEW YORK A&Ps store-brand items will be among the packaged foods and restaurant fare reformulated as part of the New York City Health Departments National Salt Reduction Initiative, according to a New York Times report.

The voluntary program aims to reduce salt in processed and restaurant foods by 25%and sodium intake by 20%over the next five years. More than 40 cities, states and health organizations have committed to work toward the goal.

Though Campbells supports the intent of the initiative, it plans to stick with its own salt reduction plans since it allows for adequate time to collect consumer feedback about taste. Campbells has reduced the sodium in more than 90 soups.

The targets proposed are quite aggressive and difficult to achieve, particularly in the recommended timeframes, said Chor-San Khoo, vice president of Campbells global nutrition and health, in a statement.

ConAgra will likewise stick to its own pledge, set forth last October. We plan to follow through on our own plans to reduce sodium by 20% by 2015, spokeswoman Stephanie Childs told SN.

ConAgra has removed more than 2 million pounds of salt from its products since 2006. The NYC Health Department is seeking food industry comments about proposed targets for 61 packaged foods categories through Feb. 1. The initiative will adopt final targets and seek food company commitments this spring.

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Some NYC post: NYC Asks Food Manufacturers to Cut Salt Content

NYC

City health officials have battled trans fat and high-calorie fast food. Now, they're taking on salt.

The health department planned to release on Monday draft guidelines suggesting the maximum amount of salt that should be in a wide variety of manufactured and packaged foods.

The recommendations call for sizable reductions in the sodium content of many products, from a 20 percent drop in peanut butter to a 40 percent decline in the salt content of canned vegetables.

Unlike the city's recent ban on trans fat in restaurant food or rules implemented last year requiring chain restaurants to post calorie information on their menus, this initiative is purely voluntary.

But even though there will be no penalties for companies that ignore the guidelines, health officials say they think some manufacturers may be motivated to make changes.

"They all fully recognize that sodium is a major health problem that they need to address," said the city's health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Farley.

Seventeen national health organizations and 25 other city or state health agencies have joined with New York City in the effort, called the National Salt Reduction Initiative. It aims to reduce the average American's salt intake by 20 percent in five years.

Everyone needs some salt in his or her diet, but experts say Americans now eat about twice as much as they should. That can lead to problems including high blood pressure and an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

The guidelines suggest that manufacturers lower salt content gradually over several years so consumers won't notice, and they aren't asking for big changes in every category.

For example, under the city's standards, by 2014 no restaurant hamburger should contain more than 1,200 milligrams of salt. Nearly every burger sold by McDonald's already meets that guideline, although there are exceptions like the double quarter pounder with cheese, which has 1,380 milligrams of salt.