ESA’s managing director Wouter Lox told FoodNavigator.com: “The key is good consumer information and a good consumer behavior in their choices. It is relevant (important) to provide correct nutritional information like sodium content instead of salt content in the nutritional declaration.
“The use of iodized and fluoridated salt should be part of the dietary choices to increase health….”
That was because consumers’ dental status of population could be compromised because they are now deprived of knowledge about why a good intake is important to their future health, he added.
Responsible consumption
Responsible salt consumption should be part of a healthy well-balanced diet, according to the ESA. In that context, initiatives by Australian food companies to reduce salt use by up to 30 per cent are unhelpful, it believes.
“We are opposing the focus on nutrient reductions as these are misleading the consumers and will be providing a much bigger health problem,” said Lox. “Consuming nutrient reduced foods does not equal installing a well balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.”
Focusing on nutrient reductions misleads consumers by encouraging them to believe that by choosing nutrient reduced foods they have achieved a well balanced diet, he added.
Also nutrient reduced foods cannot trigger beneficial changes to dietary patterns and lifestyles.
The salt industry promotes the adoption of a healthy lifestyle including physical activities and a well balanced diet including fruits and vegetables. That would automatically lead to lower consumption of sodium but as a result of a positive message note one that created fear.
“Moderation and balancing should be the key words of a positive message instead of creating fear. Food has never been so safe and well controlled. It is the dietary habits and knowledge that need to be improved,” said Lox.
Healthier and safer
Meanwhile, at the beginning of this month, the ESA reaffirmed its commitment to taking its responsibility for a more sustainable, healthier and safer Europe in terms of salt production and consumption.
Speaking at the organisation’s EuSalt general assembly in Dublin, Lox said: “As a responsible stakeholder the European salt industry will continue its contributions to an improved environmental sustainability and consumer health.”
Newly elected president Peter Kuijpers identified the main challenges lying ahead as being: “… the use of salt in food and climate change. In my view, the salt industry can largely contribute to health, safety and sustainability.”