Salt consumption 2.5 times ideal level, says FSAI

EXCESSIVE consumption of salt is a major factor in the high number of deaths from heart disease and stroke every year, new research revealed yesterday.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said there have been moves towards the introduction of mandatory labelling of foods with high salt content to cut down on health problems.

The FSAI report has revealed Irish adults are consuming, on average, 10 grams of salt a day - compared to the recommended intake level of four grams.

Professor Albert Flynn of the FSAI scientific committee said: “It is very clear that people are consuming too much salt. There is a direct causal link between dietary salt intake and raised blood pressure.”

Prof Flynn said reducing the amount of salt in the diet was possible as around 20% of the total sodium intake comes from people adding salt during cooking or at the table, while between 65 to 70% comes from manufactured foods.

The study - Salt and Health: Review of the Scientific Evidence and Recommendations for Public Policy in Ireland - found that one teaspoon less of salt in the daily diet could have a positive influence on health.

Dr Alice Stanton, chairwoman of the Irish Heart Foundation’s council on blood pressure, called for the report’s recommendations to be immediately implemented.

Dr Stanton said a reduction by just one teaspoon would prevent a total of about 1,700 deaths from cardiovascular disease each year.

The report states that cardiovascular disease accounts for more than two-in-five deaths in Ireland while more than 50% of the population over 50 years of age suffer from hypertension.

In 2003, nearly 11,000 people died from heart disease.

The report recommended the FSAI and other Government bodies should support the clear nutritional labelling of all processed pre-packaged food.

It also called for consideration to be given to the mandatory labelling of foods with salt content above a specific threshold being labelled ‘high salt’.

It recommended the Health Department and other agencies engage in awareness campaigns.

Dr John O’Brien, chief executive of the FSAI, said the authority has worked with the food industry, and IBEC, in the past year to address the issue of high salt levels in processed foods.

“We’ve made representations at EU level seeking mandatory labelling of high salt products.”

Some foods, such as instant soups, baked beans and pork sausages, can provide two-thirds of a person’s daily salt allowance of six grams (one teaspoon).