The current target is to reduce the average salt intake for adults to six grams a day from an average of over eights grams per day. It is predicted this reduction could help save the lives of 17,000 people in the UK.
The theme for 2020 Salt Awareness Week is ‘Hide and Seek’. Action on Salt suggests the food industry ‘hides’ salt and it is the responsibility of the public to ‘seek’ out lower salt alternatives.
People can get involved by hosting cookery demonstrations using low slat recipes, putting up notice boards in schools or taking a quiz on the negative impact of salt on a person’s health.
On 11 March 2020 Action on Salt will be hosting a panel discussion at the House of Commons. Some of the panellists include Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City University London, Juliet Bouverie from the Stroke Association and professor Graham MacGregor chair of Action on Salt.
Charities including Adopt a School, Blood Pressure UK and Children’s Food Campaign have supported Salt Awareness Week.
A spokesperson from Adopt a School, said: "As a food education charity working with chefs to teach children about food and how it impacts our bodies and the environment, The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts’ Adopt a School Trust supports Salt Awareness Week.
“Even if we never actually add salt ourselves, it is not easy to know how much salt is already in the food we consume. Therefore, we urge food producers to help us out by reducing the salt they use in their food, opting for other healthier ways to enhance flavour."
A high salt intake can result in raised blood pressure, which increases the risk of developing heart disease or having a stroke. On average the UK population eats one third more than the recommended limit of six grams of salt per day.
A spokesperson from the Children’s Food Campaign, added: “From children’s meals and snacks to processed meats, excessive quantities of salt are lurking in our everyday foods.
“The food industry is failing to achieve voluntary salt reduction targets, and too many companies are still not using traffic-light colour coded labelling to warn shoppers about high salt levels. That’s why the Children’s Food Campaign is backing Salt Awareness Week’s calls for mandatory labelling and new business levers for change."
Join the campaign on social media by using #SaltAwarenessWeek.