“Our review of dozens of categories of popular foods shows that, in most categories, sodium levels in otherwise similar foods varied considerably and that many companies are able to make food with much smaller amounts of sodium than their competitors,” reads the study, Salty to a Fault.
Results indicate that suppliers could reduce the sodium in their food, significantly reducing consumer’s risk of high-blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. “Excess sodium in the Canadian diet — three-quarters of which is added to foods by manufacturers and restaurants in the form of salt (sodium chloride) and other sodium-containing additives — likely kills more Canadians every year than any other chemical substance,” the study reads while also explaining that many foods contain more sodium than is recommended in an entire day.
Although some companies like Pizza Pizza, Kraft Foods and Loblaw Cos. Ltd. have been working on reducing sodium in their products, according to the study, more work needs to be done. A solution for change is hammered out in the report’s 12 recommendations, which include suggestions that: Health Canada set sodium reduction targets; food companies and restaurants cut down on salt as Health Canada develops a reduction strategy; and grocery stores and restaurants press suppliers to reduce sodium. To read the complete report and list of recommendations, click here.
