Wallace Announces Action To Reduce Salt In Irish Diet

A recent survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes & Nutrition found that daily salt intake per adult in Ireland is almost 10 grams per day, well above the recommended level of 6 grams per day.

The Minister said "This level of intake needs to be reduced as a diet high in salt can increase blood pressure levels and in turn increase risk of heart attack or stroke.

"If everyone in Ireland reduced their salt intake by a half teaspoon we could prevent about 900 deaths each year from these diseases.

"We want to encourage people to cut back on adding salt to food at home and when eating out, as well as looking at what is on the labels of processed foods."

The Minister acknowledged that most salt in the diet is hidden in processed foods. Research shows that the sensitivity of the salt taste receptors in the mouth depends on an individual's habitual salt intake and once salt intake has been reduced for a month or more, highly salted food becomes distasteful.

The Minister congratulated the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) for its Salt Reduction Programme and its commitment to securing a voluntary incremental reduction in the levels of salt in processed food.

According to Government figures, a large number of Food Industry partners are participating in this programme and are already engaged in reformulating their products to make them lower in salt.

"Many of the foods linked with overweight and obesity are often not only high in fat and sugar, but are also high in salt. Therefore, if we reduce our consumption of such foods, through smaller portion sizes, we will automatically reduce our consumption of salt," she concluded.