The Disturbing Truth About Snacks with Less Salt

Published on Tuesday, June 1, 2010, by Lessley Anderson / Edit Post

Putting salt in your coffee tastes nasty. That didn't stop Alton Brown from recommending it in a new advertisement for Cargill. That's just one of the dirty details in a great behind-the-scenes New York Times story on the processed food industry's attempts to keep antisodium initiatives at bay. We've known that salt is really bad for you since the 1970s (it causes hypertension in some people), but every time anybody tries to get the companies that supply our nation with frozen pizzas and potato chips to cut back, those companies launch a coordinated offensive. This time around, they're battling New York's Mayor Bloomberg, Michelle Obama, and the Institute of Medicine.

Somewhat surprisingly, executives at snack food companies went out of their way to demonstrate to Times reporter Michael Moss just how gross their products would be without lots of salt. Kellogg apparently sat down with him and tasted some of its biggest sellers, minus most of their sodium: "The Cheez-It fell apart in surprising ways," Moss writes. "The golden yellow hue faded. The crackers became sticky when chewed, and the mash packed onto the teeth. The taste was not merely bland but medicinal."

Indeed, without salt, packaged foods, especially meat, often taste very bad: "[Salt] counters a side effect of processed food production called 'warmed-over flavor,' which, the scientists said, can make meat taste like 'cardboard' or 'damp dog hair.'"

Let me get this straight: One of the processed food industry's tactics is to show that its food is gross without salt? And therefore salt should stay at high levels? Add to that the other message points, which warn that sugar levels would have to come up to make less salty food palatable, and that costs of food would rise as makers would be forced to use more expensive flavoring ingredients: actual butter! Herbs! Tomatoes that taste like something!

I am not sure it's even necessary to point out how weird these arguments are. They're basically openly saying to the American public: If you take away our salt, you'll see our food is supercrappy. You don't want that, now, do you?

Image source: Flickr member ryemang under Creative Commons

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POST A COMMENT |12 Comments

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  • I'm a home-cook, who initially started trying to avoid buying "processed foods" out of a desire to save money and be a bit more healthy. Cutting down on salt usage wasn't even close to being on my radar. Funny thing is that we can hardly enjoy a potato chip anymore unless it's a "lightly salted" variety. Seems the amount of salt needed to make enjoyable meals at home is much less than what...+READ

    I'm a home-cook, who initially started trying to avoid buying "processed foods" out of a desire to save money and be a bit more healthy. Cutting down on salt usage wasn't even close to being on my radar. Funny thing is that we can hardly enjoy a potato chip anymore unless it's a "lightly salted" variety. Seems the amount of salt needed to make enjoyable meals at home is much less than what processed food uses, and our tastes changed. I read recently that something like 80% of salt intake comes from processed food. Think about it.-COLLAPSE

  • And who says that putting salt in your coffee as Alton Brown recommends tastes nasty? There was a thread about that very subject a couple of years ago and the results weren't all that 'out there'. Check it out:
    http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/370705

  • >>>"""" We’ve known that salt is really bad for you since the 1970s (it causes hypertension in some people).""""<<<<

    ergo, salt must be banished. QED.

    "we KNOW salt is REALLY REALLY BAD" (and how do we know that, please?)
    and it "causes hypertension in SOME people" -- and that means some people maybe shouldn't eat lots of high-sodium foods,...+READ

    >>>"""" We’ve known that salt is really bad for you since the 1970s (it causes hypertension in some people).""""<<<<

    ergo, salt must be banished. QED.

    "we KNOW salt is REALLY REALLY BAD" (and how do we know that, please?)
    and it "causes hypertension in SOME people" -- and that means some people maybe shouldn't eat lots of high-sodium foods, right?

    ~~~~~
    whatever happened to critical thinking? i *thought* it used to be taught in our educational system. alas, i may (must) have a false impression.-COLLAPSE

  • I do not understand why Kellogg's had to remove "most of the salt" from the Cheez-Its and ALL the salt in its Corn Flakes and Eggos in the taste test. That sounds more making a point against no-salt or low-salt food products, when most of us are really only talking about reducing the amount of salt.

    In a way, keeping the salt level high in those processed foods is doing me a favour because...+READ

    I do not understand why Kellogg's had to remove "most of the salt" from the Cheez-Its and ALL the salt in its Corn Flakes and Eggos in the taste test. That sounds more making a point against no-salt or low-salt food products, when most of us are really only talking about reducing the amount of salt.

    In a way, keeping the salt level high in those processed foods is doing me a favour because when I do have a craving for them, the salt (and other flavour enhancers) eventually makes my lips and mouth burn and keep me from having too much.-COLLAPSE

  • Too add to Ruth's comments... Salt/sodium is not "really, really bad" for you - it is actually required for normal bodily functions. Most Americans consume far too much sodium, which contributes to health problems for some people. On the other hand, eliminating sodium will also cause problems. I don't think we have to worry about sodium disappearing from the American diet, but demonizing a single...+READ

    Too add to Ruth's comments... Salt/sodium is not "really, really bad" for you - it is actually required for normal bodily functions. Most Americans consume far too much sodium, which contributes to health problems for some people. On the other hand, eliminating sodium will also cause problems. I don't think we have to worry about sodium disappearing from the American diet, but demonizing a single element is generally a bad idea.-COLLAPSE

  • Interesting article, interesting comments. My one friend really took the whole salt is bad for you concept and swallowed it whole. Once when we were cooking together he tried to eliminate the salt in a baking recipe. Thank goodness I intervened. Now he has a job where he works outside in hot weather and always makes sure he has a salty snack or salt containing beverage or both. I agree with...+READ

    Interesting article, interesting comments. My one friend really took the whole salt is bad for you concept and swallowed it whole. Once when we were cooking together he tried to eliminate the salt in a baking recipe. Thank goodness I intervened. Now he has a job where he works outside in hot weather and always makes sure he has a salty snack or salt containing beverage or both. I agree with jfiling's comments too. I remember when McDonald's fries were really yummy. And chicken rice a roni. Now I have to pay a premium price for an original Thomas english muffin. Sigh.-COLLAPSE

  • Your body does an excellent job of getting rid of excess sodium. Avoid processed foods, salt fresh food to taste at home. In other words, what Ruth said. :D

  • I was about to post, then I read Ruth Lafler's post. Succinctly and elegantly put Ruth. You've hit the nail on the head twice, as it was pointed out already.

  • The first two commenters have hit the nail on the head. The high sodium levels of snacks can be avoided by not eating them. Further, if people choose to eat them, why should they be forced to eat a lesser product because the nanny state wants to cut back on the sodium those people put into their bodies?

  • "I don’t see where they are freaking out over home cooking."
    ********
    I was referring to the blanket statement that salt is "really, really bad" and the critcism of Alton Brown for promoting the use of salt at home by saying “So make sure you have plenty of salt in your kitchen at all times” (although the phrasing is creepily hyperbolic, I admit).

    I really hate the branding of certain foods...+READ

    "I don’t see where they are freaking out over home cooking."
    ********
    I was referring to the blanket statement that salt is "really, really bad" and the critcism of Alton Brown for promoting the use of salt at home by saying “So make sure you have plenty of salt in your kitchen at all times” (although the phrasing is creepily hyperbolic, I admit).

    I really hate the branding of certain foods and ingredients as "good" or "bad" when in reality most of them are neither. Let's not forget that salt is necessary for your body to function properly. So it's not that *salt* is "really, really bad" but that *too much* salt -- just like too much anything -- can be bad.-COLLAPSE

  • The article is quite clear about how it affects the taste of processed foods and their bottomline. I don't see where they are freaking out over home cooking. Anyway most American food cooked at home has little to no salt to my (insensitive?) palate - probably tweaked by years of using chillies and spices.

  • Salt is not "really, really bad for you" -- high levels of sodium *contribute* to high blood pressure in *some* people.

    In addition, "salt" and "sodium" are not synonymous. Salt contains sodium, but so do other chemicals commonly used in the processed food industry (including sodium benzoate, a common preservative, and good old MSG, whether it's labeled as such or disguised under another...+READ

    Salt is not "really, really bad for you" -- high levels of sodium *contribute* to high blood pressure in *some* people.

    In addition, "salt" and "sodium" are not synonymous. Salt contains sodium, but so do other chemicals commonly used in the processed food industry (including sodium benzoate, a common preservative, and good old MSG, whether it's labeled as such or disguised under another name). So by all means avoid processed foods, but don't over-react by freaking out over using salt in cooking at home.-COLLAPSE