You might be forgiven for not knowing that it’s National Salt Awareness Week, especially because the nation in the title is the UK.
We’ll take note of it here anyway, since in the U.S. it seems to be “National ‘Hey, Packaged Food Isn’t So Good for You, Even If It’s Organic’ Week.”
Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) doesn’t want us to give up our Himalayan pink salt or our jinx-removing black salt.
Instead, CASH is focusing on processed food with “unnecessary amounts of salt. The organization has issued a list of products to boycott. The list includes such salt fests as Unilever Peperami Sticks (with a whopping 4 grams of salt per 100 grams) and, unsurprisingly, a product called Quaker Salt and Vinegar Snack-a-Jacks. It has salt right there in the name!
As does any crisps package with a “salt and vinegar” or “plain salted” flavor, of which there are many, and most much more heart-unhealthy than these little rice cake rounds. The deeper challenge would be to show consumers where the hidden salt is, especially as more than a few products on the boycott list target higher-end consumers and healthier eaters. The highly processed Pepperami meat sticks are no surprise here, but the wholemeal bread, fancy tomato sauces, and oat & bran flakes are.