Fast food salt levels - big difference between North America and Europe

Technical issues are often cited as barriers to salt reduction initiatives. However, a recent study, published in Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), states that researchers have found that salt levels in fast foods sold by 6 major companies vary considerably, indicating that technical issues are not the problem. Salt content of 2,124 food items in 7 product categories; french fries, burgers, pizza, salads, savory breakfast items, chicken products and sandwiches - from 6 companies - were examined by researchers from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and France. The following companies were examined by the team: Domino's Pizza Pizza Hut McDonald's Burger King (known as Hungry Jack's in Australia) Subway Kentucky Fried Chicken Consuming too much salt can cause higher blood pressure, as well as other adverse health effects. According to estimates, a significant number of deaths could be prevented by reducing salt intake and salt reduction efforts have been enforced in several countries, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan and Finland. Furthermore, recent voluntary salt reduction targets in place, or labeling for some types of food, have been successful. According to the researchers, technical food processing issues have been cited by food companies as barriers in lowering salt content, claiming that new technology and processes are required in order to produce lower-salt products. The researchers found that between countries salt levels in similar foods varied considerably, with fast foods in the UK and France containing significantly lower levels of salt than in Canada and the United States. In the UK, McDonald's Chicken McNuggets contained 240 mg sodium (0.6g salt) per 100 g in servings vs. 600 mg (1.5g salt) per 100 g serving in Canada. Dr. Norman Campbell, University of Calgary and his co-authors, said: "We saw marked variability in the reported salt content of products provided by major transnational fast food companies. Canadian companies indicate they have been working to reduce sodium but the high sodium in these foods indicates voluntary efforts aren't working. These high levels indicate failure of the current government approach that leaves salt reduction solely in the hands of industry. Salt reduction programs need to guide industry and oversee it with targets and timelines for foods, monitoring and evaluation, and stronger regulatory measures if the structured voluntary efforts are not effective." According to the researchers, this is an opportunity for extensive reformulation of products to contain lower levels of sodium. In addition, this change could be gradually introduced over several years, in order to keep consumer backlash to a minimum. The researchers conclude: "Decreasing salt in fast foods would appear to be technically feasible and is likely to produce important gains in population health - the mean salt levels of fast foods are high, and these foods are eaten often."