The Australian food and beverage industry is building on its record of helping Australians reduce their salt intake.

The Australian Food and Grocery Council’s (AFGC) chief executive, Kate Carnell said that the AFGC participated in an event on 5 February organised by AWASH (Australian Division of World Action on Salt and Health) to help raise awareness of the need for people to reduce their salt intake.

‘The AFGC is a strong supporter of any initiative which raises awareness among consumers of the need for them to moderate their salt intake levels,’ Carnell said.

She highlighted that the food industry has long been involved with the issue of salt reduction; both in terms of helping people understand how much salt is in their food and in terms of reformulating products so that they contain less.

‘Vegemite started reducing its salt content in 1974 – it now has 13 per cent less than the original recipe. Smith's Classic Crinkle Cut Original Potato Chips now have 17 per cent less salt than in 2006, Unilever has removed more than 250 tonnes of salt from their spreads, whilst Kellogg’s has removed a similar amount from their breakfast cereals since 1997.

‘While salt is an important part of our diet for a number of reasons it is generally recognised that eating too much of it can contribute to high blood pressure and other illnesses. That is why the food and beverage sector has long been working to educate consumers on how to better construct a more balanced diet.

‘Food and beverage companies now offer a myriad of product lines which come in low salt options, whilst the introduction of Daily Intake Guide labelling, which brings a products nutrient label from the back of a product to the front and converts it into a more user friendly format, makes it easier for consumers to identify a product’s salt content,’ Carnell said.