An introduction to ways of reducing salt intake
Sainsbury's salt reduction
As a nation we're still consuming too much salt. It's recommended that adults should be having no more than 6g per day - that's about 1 teaspoon.
Our team of suppliers and food experts have been working hard to find ways to reduce the salt in our own label food to meet the Food Standards Agency (FSA) salt targets, (the FSA have set salt target for 85 product categories to be achieved by 2010 - visit the Food standards Agency website for more information.) We're fully committed to achieve these targets and have already achieved or exceeded these in many product area such as soup, baked beans, tomato ketchup, frozen pizza and our standard bread. Our ready meals are a key focus for salt reduction and to date about 90% of all our own branded ready meals reach the FSA salt targets.
Look out for our healthier be good to yourself range instore – it has lower levels of salt(compared to standard equivalent products) wherever possible.
Why is too much salt bad for us?
Salt contains sodium, which is linked with high blood pressure which increases the risk of stroke and heart disease, so cutting down on salt may help to lower blood pressure and maintain a healthy heart.
About 75% of the salt that we consume comes from processed foods we buy - the rest comes from the salt naturally present in foods, and from extra salt that people add to their own food, during cooking or at the table.
Try these tips to help cut down on your salt intake
- Try to resist the pinch and use less salt when cooking, instead try to add flavour with herbs and spices - basil, lemon grass, ginger or garlic are great alternatives and provide loads of delicious flavour. Marinate fish and meat in advance to give it more flavour.
- Try to get out of the habit of adding salt to food at the table - always taste food before you add any; you may find it doesn’t need it.
- Try to limit salty snack foods like crisps, salted nuts and nibbles - instead try choosing low-salt snacks like plain popcorn, rice cakes or unsalted nuts and seeds. Vegetables like cherry tomatoes and crunchy crudités are great to nibble on.
- When buying tinned vegetables, choose the ones labelled 'no added salt' or 'reduced salt', and when shopping for kids look out for reduced-salt baked beans and pasta shapes and Sainsbury's food for children.
- When choosing foods, look at the front of pack traffic light labelling and choose more foods that are low (green) or medium (amber) for salt. Also, look on the back of the pack for the nutrition information - we give the salt and sodium figure, and information on Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA) for salt. To calculate the salt content, multiply the sodium figure by 2.5.
- Look out for our healthier be good to yourself range, which has lower levels of salt (compared to standards equivalent products) wherever possible.
