Irish people urged to reduce levels of salt consumption

The cross-border Food Safety Promotion Board has mounted a new campaign encouraging people to eat less salt.

The board said Irish people in general consume more than twice the daily recommended amount of salt, increasing their risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease and strokes.

It said around 70% of salt intake in Ireland came from processed foods.

People can reduce their consumption by cutting out such products and by flavouring home-cooked foods with other substances like pepper, garlic or lemon.