NYC declares war on salt

Manufacturing News, Source : TheManufacturer.com
Published : 11 Jan 2010 17:44

A coalition of health organisations from across the US, led by the New York City health department, is petitioning food manufacturers for a reduction in salt.

Under the title of the National Salt Reduction Initiative, the group has today published provisional targets for the reduction of salt in a wide range of different foodstuffs in a bid to reduce the 850,000 US deaths from strokes and heart attacks each year.

The targets include reducing the salt levels in processed food and restaurant meals by 25 per cent as these currently contain almost 80 per cent of salt intake. The ultimate goal is a 20 per cent reduction in the average person’s salt intake over five years.

The NSRI has set a deadline of February 1 for the food industry to respond to today’s guidance, after which point it will formulate and release finalised targets.

“Consumers can always add salt to food, but they can’t take it out,” said Dr. Thomas Farley, New York City Health Commissioner. “At current levels, the salt in our diets poses health risks for people with normal blood pressure, and it’s even riskier for the 1.5 million New Yorkers with high blood pressure. If we can reduce the sodium levels in packaged and restaurant foods, we will give consumers more choice about the amount of salt they eat, and reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke in the process.”

You can find links to all of the proposed targets plus further facts on salt by clicking here.

The following is a signatory list of state departments and organisations that are backing the NYC health department, correct as of December 1 last year:

Alaska Department of Health and Social Services

American College of Cardiology

American College of Epidemiology

American Heart Association

American Medical Association

American Public Health Association

American Society of Hypertension

Association of Black Cardiologists

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

Boston Public Health Commission

California Department of Public Health

Chicago Department of Public Health

Consumers Union

Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists

Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health

District of Columbia Department of Health

InterAmerican Heart Foundation

International Society of Hypertension in Blacks

Joint Policy Committee, Societies of Epidemiology

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Michigan Department of Community Health

National Association of Chronic Disease Directors

National Association of County and City Health Officials

National Hispanic Medical Association

National Kidney Foundation

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

New York State Chapter, American College of Cardiology

New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets

New York State Department of Health

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health

Oregon Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health

Pennsylvania Department of Health

Philadelphia Department of Public Health

Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association

Public Health, Seattle and King County

Society for the Analysis of African-American Public Health Issues

Tennessee Department of Health

Washington State Department of Health

West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Public Health

World Hypertension League

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