The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has produced guidelines for salt intake. Why might these be of significance to cheese manufacturers and retailers?
It has been known for some time that high sodium chloride(salt) intake can result in hypertension (high blood pressure) in sensitive individuals. The health risks associated with hypertension are well known and include coronary disease and premature death. Salt (in the form of sodium) in food has generated significant debate regarding the actual health benefits to the population as a whole by reducing salt levels in food, and this is continuing; see http://www.ifst.org/hottop17.htm. The latter IFST paper gives an excellent overview of the issues involved e.g. some 90% of the population may not be salt-sensitive. Nevertheless it is now UK policy to move towards a significant reduction in dietary salt. Since manufactured foods are a significant and sometimes hidden source this will impact on food manufacturers including cheese makers. The Scientific Advisory Committee of Nutrition (SACN) published a report on salt and health in May 2003. Following publication, the Food Standards Agency (
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