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Home / New Zealand

New Zealanders consume 9g of salt per day

NZME.
29 May, 2015 03:35 AM2 mins to read

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A high salt intake can cause high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease. Photo / Thinkstock

A high salt intake can cause high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease. Photo / Thinkstock

Salt levels have been slashed in some processed foods, but New Zealanders are still consuming too much sodium, a new study has shown.

New Zealanders consume about 9g of salt per day, well above the World Health Organisation's target of reducing intake to 5g per day by 2025.

A high salt intake can cause high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease.

New research on the changing salt levels in food products from 2003 to 2013 has found some food groups cut sodium levels by up to 28 per cent, while others added 21 per cent more salt.

The study by Auckland University and the Heart Foundation showed the biggest reduction was in breakfast cereals (28 per cent), canned spaghetti (15 per cent) and bread (14 per cent).

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Lead author Dave Monro, the Heart Foundation's food industry setting manager, said it was positive to see reductions in low-cost staple family foods.

"Bread, for example, is the leading source of salt in the New Zealand diet, accounting for around a quarter of our salt intake. It's encouraging to see the sodium content come down by 14 per cent in this product."

But salt in butter increased by 21 per cent, at the same time as the sodium in margarine was cut by 19 per cent.

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Salt levels rose by 2 per cent in cheese products, and 6 per cent in corned beef products.

"Food companies need to make more effort in these areas," Monro said.

About three quarters of dietary salt comes from processed foods, so cutting salt in the food supply is crucial to reducing intake, the study authors said.

Co-author Dr Helen Eyles from the University's National Institute for Health Innovation said there needed to be greater focus on food groups that had not reduced sodium since 2003.

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"This is essential if New Zealand is to meet its commitment to a 30 per cent relative reduction in population sodium intake by 2025."

Dr Eyles said New Zealand needed a government-led salt reduction plan, as had occurred in the United Kingdom and Australia.

"Such a strategy should include targets for manufacturers, but also improved labelling and a public awareness campaign highlighting the impact of salt on health," she said.

The research paper, Changes in the sodium content of New Zealand processed foods: 2003-2013 was published in scientific journal Nutrients.

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