IRISH manufacturers of soups and sauces have promised to reduce the amount of salt in their products by 10% before the end of this year.

The action was prompted by a Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) study which found that people were consuming excessive levels of salt, greatly increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Irish consumers are eating about 10g of salt a day, 2Å times the recommended daily allowance. Processed foods account for two-thirds of the salt intake, with packet soups and sauces among those identified as the worst culprits.

The FSAI says there is a direct causal link between dietary salt intake and raised blood pressure, and just one teaspoon of salt less a day could have considerable health benefits.

The human body needs about 4g of salt a day, but some soups and sauces can contain more than half of this in one portion. Knorr Oxtail soup contains 2.75g of salt per serving, while a mug of Erin Hot cup Chicken Noodle Soup has 2.25g of salt.

Foods high in salt contain 1.5g or more of salt per 100g, while foods low in salt contain 0.3g or less. Erin’s packs of parsley and white sauces both contain 10g of salt per 100g while the sweet and sour sauce has 9.75g.

It is not always easy to tell how much salt is contained in processed foods as not all labels display salt content. Those that do so list only the amount of sodium — salt is sodium chloride — so in order to work out total salt content requires multiplying by 2Å.

The Soups and Sauces Association has committed to a 10% average salt reduction across all Irish-manufactured soups and sauces products by the end of this year.

“The association will consider further reductions in the light of consumer reactions,” said Rosemary Garth, director of the food and drink industry group within Ibec, the employers’ association.

Other food sectors have also committed to reduce salt in their products. The Irish Association of Pigmeat Processors says it will ensure all its products, which include rashers, gammon and ham, will be below the average 2004 figure identified by the FSAI. Efforts are focused on tackling higher-salt products.

The Irish Breakfast Cereals Association is aiming to reduce salt levels by on average 10% by the end of 2005. This is in addition to reductions of at least 20% since 1998.

The Irish Bread Bakers Association has reduced the salt level in all products by 8% since the beginning of 2004 and “is committed to exploring ways of reducing this further”.

Representatives of the snack food industry, including crisp and peanut manufacturers, are in talks with the FSAI but no plan of action has been agreed yet.

Moves to reduce salt content are being made by food companies working in agreement with their competitors, so that no individual producer gains a competitive advantage while Irish palates adjust to less salty foods.

“Industry is absolutely committed to working with the FSAI to address this issue,” said Garth. “Everybody is concerned about the impact it will have on the taste of the product and whether consumers would still like them. It has to be done gradually so consumer palates will adjust. If you were to change the taste of something dramatically, people may not like it.”

Dr Wayne Anderson, chief specialist in food science with the FSAI, has been liaising with food industry representatives since 2003, when a link between high salt intake and high blood pressure looked likely. “We welcome the initial reaction from the food industry,” said Anderson.

“We need to make it a bit more formal and get these agreed plans from the different groups, and we’ll review them at the end of each year to see how progress is going.

“We will also conduct surveillance of the different foodstuffs to see what the salt content is and check up on the industry to make sure people are sticking to their promises.”

Anderson said the long-term goal was a reduction of a third in many of these foods.

Maureen Mulvihill, the Irish Heart Foundation’s health promotion manager, said: “It’s a start but it needs to be sustained over a number of years and right across the board in all food products with salt content.”

The foundation says that the public should cut down on high salt foods such as instant noodles (which contain 4.5g of salt per portion), ketchups, sausages and burgers, and salty savoury snacks.

Times Recommends

• Peter Moore’s family say they can smile again
• Ambition always comes before a fall
• Putin: Russia needs more weapons to counter US