New City Plan Pushes for 25% Reduction of Salt in Nearly all Food Products

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Summary	New City Plan Pushes for 25% Reduction of Salt in Nearly all Food Products
Category	Diet
Subcategory	Salt
New Health Idea	" ... The City (New York) Health Department is shaking up the food industry Monday by giving it tough targets to reduce salt in products by 25% - on everything from bread to bacon. The plan is voluntary but has national implications because the manufacturers would change their products for all Americans, not just New Yorkers. "I can't guarantee it will work, but I'm very excited about it," Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said. The most drastic reductions are for cereals, pretzels, potato chips and canned vegetables, as well as fast-food favorites like fried shrimp and pizza. Besides lowering blood pressure levels and the likelihood of a heart attack, Farley said, the salt reduction plan offers New Yorkers more choice. "If they want more salt, they can put it on. They can't take salt out of the food they buy," he said. The proposed goals came after 60 salt talks between city officials and big-name manufacturers such as Kraft and PepsiCo in the past year. Companies that commit to the plan have until 2014 to phase in the changes. PepsiCo said it will reduce the salt in Lay's potato chips 25% during the next 18 months. ... "
Webpage	More info
Author	Editor
Date	1/11/2010