Further salt reductions prove hard

The food industry is “getting to the flat part of the improvement curve” on salt reduction in terms of technical capability and consumer acceptance, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has claimed.

As the industry revealed its progress on reducing fat, sugar and salt in foods, the FDF president Gavin Neath said: “On salt, significant progress has been made, but to go beyond a certain point it’s hard technologically and it’s hard to take consumers with you.”

Some companies, including Heinz, had been extremely bold in their commitment to salt reduction, he said. However, UK manufacturers, whose reformulated products were more expensive to produce and sometimes tasted very different, feared losing out to saltier imports, he claimed.

Data collected from 20 leading suppliers with retail sales of £35bn demonstrated a “substantive change” in the nutritional profile of foods in the UK, which should be reflected in the national diet and nutrition surveys, said Neath.

The FDF claimed that by the end of the year 36% of products from 20 sample companies would have “substantially less” salt than they did last year, 15% would have less fat and 10% less sugar.

The Food Standards Agency is still considering whether to set formal sugar and fat reduction targets. Neath said: “The model that worked for salt would not necessarily work for sugar and fat.”

The FDF is also talking to the Department of Health about part-funding a government-led health campaign on the understanding that the focus would not be on demonising particular products, but promoting a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle, he said.