The Grattan Institute says it’s time for mandatory limits on salt, as thousands die each year from illnesses caused by a high intake.
It’s tasty, mostly invisible and an essential part of a healthy diet, but researchers say the average Australian is consuming almost double the maximum recommended daily amount of salt.
The Grattan Institute says given that three-quarters of the salt in Australians’ diets is added during food manufacturing, mandatory limits on how much can be added to processed food is the most logical way to tackle the problem. Grattan Institute health program director Peter Breadon says many salty processed food categories are also not covered by the voluntary limit, including butter and margarine, baked beans, pre-packaged sandwiches and canned vegetables.
We all need a little bit of sodium, one of the key ingredients of salt, to survive. Too much of it, however, can lead to serious health problems. Steph Sparks, a mother of two boys and a qualified baker and pastry chef, believes mandatory limits in processed foods would make it easier for parents trying to limit their children’s salt intake.
She says many of the parents she has helped have not had a lot of time to cook, which perhaps supports the call for salt limits in processed food. Ideally, however, parents would be trying to avoid relying on processed foods, she says.
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