SHIFT-SALT: Towards healthy diets through salt reduction in soup and sauces

Background

The estimated salt and sugar intake of the Dutch population is still too high despite government agreements with food industry to lower salt and sugar in food products, according to the a recent report by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). The achievements from 2014 to 2020 have only resulted on average 0.5 g salt reduction in the Dutch diet. At present, the Dutch and European diets still far exceed the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended daily salt intake (8-12 g consumed, versus 5 g salt recommended, per day). According to the WHO, reduction of dietary sodium to the recommended level is a cost effective way to curb cardiovascular and renal diseases and is estimated to prevent deaths of 2.5 million people globally.

PPP SHIFT-SALT

As a direct response to the much needed effort on sodium reduction, SHIFT-SALT, a public-private partnership, provides a new opportunity towards achieving a diet with less than 5 g salt per day. SHIFT-SALT will (1) focus on providing solutions to the technical issues related to sodium reduction, and (2) understand determinants and barriers for consumer choice for sodium reduced products in real food environments (e.g. supermarkets), and (3) identify key parameters to increase the volume of reduced sodium products in the retail space via practical solutions by industrial partners throughout the chain. In particular, SHIFT-SALT will focus on sodium reduction in soups and sauces, both categories being a substantial part of the European staple food. Additionally, this focus is made based on the Nationale aanpak productverbetering bij soepen en sauzen of the ministry of public health (VWS) and the Voedselconsumptiepeiling.

SHIFT-SALT employs a chain approach, with partners comprising the entire food system, including ingredient suppliers, producers of soups and sauces and a retail organisation to ensure a practical implementation across the food chain. Furthermore, a working group will be established to link the project to governmental bodies and consumer organizations ensuring that the strategies developed are widely accepted and relevant beyond the consortium.

Project ambition

SHIFT-SALT envisions that a substantial reduction in amount of sodium ingested via the consumption of soups and sauces will be achieved (>15% reduction compared to current levels). In order to realize this, SHIFT-SALT will identify critical pathways to develop effective strategies for sodium reduction in soups and sauces while maintaining high organoleptic quality, safety and consumer acceptability. A unique approach combining tailor-made technical sodium reduction strategies with practical implementation for a wide array of soups and sauces, along with innovative consumer nudging methods will be developed within the consortium. This means that the results of SHIFT-SALT are practical and easily adapted by the food industry. The knowledge and technologies developed in SHIFT-SALT can be expanded beyond soup and sauce applications.