Ra 4 Food - Health and Nutritional Tips

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been warned that moves to cut salt levels in bacon and ham increases the risk of the potentially fatal, paralysing food bug botulism. Ham processors are concerned that the moves to reduced salt content to 2.12g per 100g by 2010 and 1.75g by 2012, are related to the health risk.

Other food sectors are unhappy about the revised salt reduction targets from the watchdog, which they believe is putting customers off sandwiches and ready meals. The issue has added to the tension that already exists between the food industry and the FSA. Health campaigners have backed-up the FSA, telling them to stand firm against what they believe is scaremongering from an industry reluctant to change its dated manufacturing practices.

Currently a 10-slice packet of ham contains just under two teaspoons of salt.

Malcom Kane, an independent food technology consultant who advices the campaign group Consensus Action of Salt in health, suggested that the objections from industry were because companies feared the shelf-life of products may have to be reduced below the current average of ten-day ‘use by’ dates: “I’m disappointed. It is just a feeble excuse for doing nothing about salt levels. They don’t want to lower salt levels because they are nervous about consumer reaction and people not liking the taste with less salt.”

Last month the agency suggested that 14,000 premature deaths a year could be avoided if adults reduced salt intake to 6g a day. The UK average at present is 8.6g a day, which is down from 9.5g in 2001.

Claire Cheney, director-general of the Provision Trade Federation, and a representative for processed meat companies, has denounced the targets as “unrealistic” and a potential risk to human health. “If you have not got sufficient preservative in a product like ham you get pockets where the salt levels are too low to prevent the formation of the botulism toxin,” she said

She told The Grocer magazine: “This will force us to reduce it [the shelf-life] further and with that come serious food safety concerns, not least the risk of botulism.” She said that salt was in the product for technological reasons not for taste. Her view is supported by the British Meat Processors Association. Elizabeth Andoh-Kesson, its technical manager, said: “We are very worried about the stricter targets and believe that reducing salt further has implications for food safety and shelf life of products,” she said.

Other trade associations are also objecting to further salt cuts. Jim Winship, the chairman of the British Sandwich Association, denounced the targets as “absolutely staggering”.

He said: “We are already getting complaints from retailers that consumers don’t like the blandness of many sandwiches to meet existing salt targets. Sandwich makers don’t add salt to sandwiches at all but it is in products such as cheese, bacon and ham. We’ll soon be at a point where people stop buying sandwiches and make them at home where they add as much salt as they want. This would affect an important industry. We sell 2.8 billion packs of sandwiches a year with a market value of £5.25 billion.”

The Chilled Food Association, which represents ready-meal manufacturers, are anxious that the £9 billion industry could be dramatically affected.

Kaarin Goodburn, the secretary-general, said: “We are already reformulating many recipes but we have got reports that consumers don’t like the taste especially in some healthy ranges of meals, such as lasagne, where there has been a decline in sales. What’s the incentive to reformulate if it results in falling sales? People are already putting in lots more herbs instead of salt but many people don’t like the taste. “

Peter Sherratt, the general secretary of the Salt Association, said that feed-back from its members suggested that the agency targets had gone too far.”