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Consumers need to be aware of hidden salts in the foods they buy, the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said. The average salt consumption per day in the country dropped over the last five years, but at least three-quarters of the salt consumed is already present in the foods purchased outside, the agency warned.
Increased salt consumption is associated with incidence of high blood pressure, asthma and even stomach cancer. Campaigners have taken up the cause of reducing salt content in refined foods like ready meals, pizzas, sandwiches and pasta sauce.
The FSA said in its latest report that while the salt consumption has declined over the last few years, it was still above the recommended level of 6g per day. Salt intake on an average in Britain declined from 9.5g in 2001 to 9g in the latest data.
In order to help consumers distinguish between high and low salt content, the FSA is launching TV ads to educate consumers on how exactly to check food labels for salt content. Some foods have high salt content, while other have low quantity of salt.
Foods like bread, breakfast cereals, biscuits, cakes and meat products including bacon and sausage are almost staple diet in the UK. It is common knowledge that these foods contain substantial amounts of salts in them. Over the last few years public awareness campaigns have informed consumers of the dangers of high salt intake.
Even so a poll of nearly 2,000 adults found that just 40 percent bother to check food labels for salt content. The respondents were given two identical food packets, one with a low salt content and the other with high salt content.
Only 14 percent were able to correctly identify the low salt food packet. More than half the subjects reported that both packets contained identical amounts of salt.
The latest FSA survey carried out urinary sodium tests to assess the amount of salt consumed by people. Around 1,200 adults from England, Scotland and Wales submitted 24-hour urine samples for analysis. The FSA found the salt intake of men to be more than women. At an average, men consumed 10.2g of salt per day as opposed to 7.6g per day consumed by women.
“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,” said FSA chairperson Dame Deirdre Hutton.
She added that more work was needed to reduce the intake of salt among the general population.
Betty McBride of the British Heart Foundation agreed that processed foods harbor excess salt. "It can cause high blood pressure and increase your risk of heart disease - so we've all got to become detectives on the trail of this hidden killer," she stressed. "By simply checking the labels and switching to a lower salt option, you'll be doing your heart a favour."
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