WASHINGTON (AP) — You should eat less salt, the government says. A lot less.
It won't be easy. Consumers will need help from
food companies if they are going to meet the government's ambitious new goals,
announced Monday, for half of Americans to reduce the amount of salt they eat
by more than half. Most salt intake doesn't come from the shaker on the table;
it's hidden in foods such as breads, chicken and pasta.
Many of the rest of us need to cut back on sodium,
too, the government said. And we still need to just plain eat less, especially
fats.
The new dietary guidelines, issued every five years
by the Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments, are telling
people who are 51 and older, African-American or suffering from high blood
pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease to cut the amount of sodium they
eat daily to little more than half a teaspoon.
That group includes about half of the population and
those who are most at risk of having higher blood pressure due to the amount of
salt they eat.
For everyone else, the government continues to
recommend about a teaspoon a day — 2,300 milligrams — or about one-third less
than the average person usually consumes.
A number of major food makers have announced plans
during the past few years to cut sodium in their products as pressure from
health advocates, consumers and regulators has built.
Kraft Foods Inc., ConAgra Foods Inc., General Mills
Inc., Heinz Co., Campbell Soup Co. and Bumble Bee Foods Inc. are some of the
companies that have committed to lowering sodium levels. But it's often a
multiyear process to dial down the sodium, largely so consumers do not detect
the changes in taste.
It's unclear if those incremental changes will be
able to cut enough to satisfy the new guidelines. The Food and Drug
Administration has said it will pressure companies to take voluntary action
before it moves to regulate salt consumption.
Melissa Musicker, director of nutrition and health
policy at the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents the nation's
largest food companies, says companies will reduce sodium as consumers
increasingly demand it. She said that in past years consumers may have avoided
products labeled low in sodium. Now, consumers are interested in them.
"They are specifically purchasing those
products and they are enjoying them," she said. "Companies are in the
business of giving consumers what they are looking for."
Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the
Center for Science in the Public Interest, says the heightened interest in the
dangers of too much sodium could help somewhat. But she believes the FDA will
have to take action for the companies to reduce enough salt to matter.
"The companies are only going to do it if
there's a really strong push," she said.
She said salt companies aren't worried about
people's reactions, however.
"If they don't get it on one food they're
going to get it in another food, or they will seek out the salt shaker,"
she said.
Some cities and states have already moved to try
and ensure that doesn't happen. New York City has launched a campaign with the
goal of cutting salt consumption by at least 20 percent in five years. That's
modeled on a plan in Britain that set voluntary salt reduction targets for 85
categories of processed foods. At least 18 states and the District of Columbia
have set portion limits for sodium in school meals and snacks beyond federal
standards, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Consumers still have some control. To reduce the
risk of disease from high sodium intake, the guidelines say people should:
— Read nutrition labels closely and buy items
labeled low in sodium.
— Use little or no salt when cooking or eating.
— Eat more fresh or home-prepared foods and fewer
processed foods, so they know exactly what they are eating.
— Ask that salt not be added to foods at
restaurants.
— Gradually reduce sodium intake over time to get
used to the taste.
Other recommendations in the guidelines are similar
to previous years — limit trans fats, reduce calorie intake from solid fats and
added sugars, eat fewer refined grains and more whole grains, consume less than
300 mg per day of cholesterol. The guidelines also recommend eating less than
10 percent of calories from saturated fats — full-fat cheese and fatty meats,
for example.
The government promotes these guidelines to
consumers by using a pyramid. It doesn't specify recommended amounts of foods
but directs people to an Agriculture Department website that details the
guidelines. That replaced an old pyramid with more detailed specifications
after surveys showed that few people followed it.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said his
department may come out with a new icon, but that won't be for a few more
months. For now, the government wants consumers to focus on the guidelines
themselves.
He says the recommendations — coupled with efforts
from industry and other government campaigns for healthful eating, such as
first lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative — should bring
about some change in the country's diet.
"I don't think it necessarily has to take a
generation or two to see some progress," he said.
Associated Press writer Sarah Skidmore in Portland, Ore., contributed to this report.
Copyright
2011 The Associated Press.
