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Canadians are to blame for the excessive sodium in everything from frozen dinners to breakfast cereal, according to major food manufacturers under increasing political pressure to cut salt in their products.

“We must balance the push of science against the pull of the market,” Catherine O'Brien, director of corporate affairs at Nestlé Canada Inc., told MPs during an appearance at the House of Commons health committee earlier this week.

“Consumers will simply not compromise on taste,” Ms. O'Brien said. “Therefore, [taste] must be a priority alongside improved health.”

But medical experts are challenging that argument, saying there is no evidence to show consumers reject products with less salt.

The parliamentary committee has been looking into the country's sodium problem for several weeks in the wake of a series by The Globe and Mail that examined the serious dangers posed by the population's excessive salt intake, including the toll it's taking on the health of children and teens.

The average Canadian – including children as young as 1 – consumes about 3,100 milligrams of sodium a day, more than double the recommended amount, and experts say this is fuelling rising rates of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and a host of other problems.

A federally appointed Sodium Working Group has come under fire from medical experts and politicians for moving too slowly.

It recently set a goal of reducing Canadian sodium consumption to 2,300 milligrams a day – the limit beyond which the chance of health problems starts to rise – by 2016.

Many food companies have often said that expensive product reformulations are the chief roadblocks to salt reduction. But those arguments were undermined by a study published this past summer by advocacy group World Action on Salt and Health that showed sodium levels in food products sold in Canada, such as Kellogg's All-Bran cereal, contain much higher amounts of salt than the same products sold in the United States and other countries.

For instance, one cup of All-Bran cereal in Canada has 620 milligrams of sodium, but in the U.S., one cup has only 160 milligrams of sodium.

Now, many companies say their efforts to reduce sodium are being held up by consumer preferences for salty foods – and are warning the government against pushing them to move faster.

“Consumers are very sensitive to formulation changes and drastic changes in the flavour profile of an established brand, especially breakfast cereals they know so well,” Christine Lowry, vice-president of nutrition and corporate affairs at Kellogg Canada Inc., told MPs at the committee meeting.

Kellogg Canada declined a request for an interview Thursday.

Like most other major food companies under pressure to reduce sodium, Kellogg advocates a gradual reduction over the course of several years.

Many medical experts say a gradual approach is an effective strategy for sodium reduction. But a growing number of federal politicians and health experts say they fear food companies are using that argument as an excuse to delay action on a critical health issue as long as possible.

“I think they know that something must be done. They're just not prepared to do it on an expeditious basis,” said NDP health critic Judy Wasylycia-Leis in an interview.

“Clearly, companies can see an advantage to stringing this out as long as possible,” said Kevin Willis, director of partnerships at the Canadian Stroke Network. “We know that consumers will accept lower amounts of sodium in food. We only need to look at international surveys that compare the same product in different countries.”

In Britain, where one of the most aggressive sodium-reduction campaigns was launched several years ago, consumers didn't react to reduced salt levels in products, according to a manager and nutritionist who works on the campaign.

There has been “almost no consumer rejection in the U.K., and despite huge protestations from the food industry, we have not seen any complaints from industry that their sales have been affected,” said Katharine Jenner, campaign manager with World Action on Salt and Health and Consensus Action on Salt and Health.

Many food makers have been trying to appease the public and politicians by promoting sodium-reduction efforts that are already under way. But most of the products being touted by those companies still contain excessive amounts of sodium.

For instance, Ms. O'Brien highlighted several Nestlé products as evidence the company is moving to reduce sodium voluntarily. The sodium in Stouffers meat lasagna frozen meal – the top-selling Stouffers product – has been reduced by 26 per cent, she said.

But one meal, which weighs 286 grams, or just over half a pound, still contains 900 milligrams of sodium – more than half the daily recommended intake for adults, according to nutrition information on the company's website.

The Canadian Stroke Network advises Canadians to avoid any product that contains more than 400 milligrams of sodium per serving.

In an interview, Ms. O'Brien said the company is working to reduce sodium, but that it's complicated because lower salt levels can affect other flavours in a product.

“It sounds so simple to just say we're going to take it out, but it really does have a very large impact on the flavour of a product, so it's a careful balancing act,” she said.

Meanwhile, an expert group created by the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization said this week that salt reduction is one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to reduce the burden posed by chronic diseases.

“This is a global issue,” said Norm Campbell, chairman of the new group and Canadian research chairman in hypertension prevention and control.

The group is urging governments to launch sodium-reduction campaigns immediately, to provide industry with incentives or regulation to reduce sodium in food products, and to educate consumers about the importance of cutting salt from their diets. It is also appealing to industry to roll out low-salt products and create timetables for sodium reduction – without waiting for governments to mandate those changes. The Pan American Health Organization announced the creation of the group in September.

Canada's Sodium Working Group, created in 2007, is consulting with industry about what various sodium-reduction targets should be, and when they should be met.

Excess salt can weaken bones

A new study is providing more evidence that consuming high amounts of sodium could have a detrimental effect on bone health. Researchers have long believed that diets high in salt could lead to bone loss or increase the possibility of developing osteoporosis.

A study published last month in the British Journal of Nutrition found that women with high-sodium diets experienced a much bigger loss of calcium than those on a lower-sodium diet.

Most of the sodium people consume is eventually excreted in urine. But when sodium is excreted, it takes calcium with it, which means people consuming a high-sodium diet will lose more calcium, according to lead author Caryl Nowson, professor of nutrition and aging at Deakin University's School for Exercise and Nutrition Sciences in Australia.

For the study, the researchers recruited about 100 women between 45 and 75 with pre-hypertension or stage 1 hypertension. The volunteers were assigned to follow either a diet that included a high amount or a reduced amount of sodium. The women who consumed more sodium excreted a substantially higher amount of calcium, which researchers said could have serious implications for bone health over time.

The study “reinforces the importance of salt reduction, not only to reduce rates of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, but … in preventing bone loss and therefore reducing the risk of osteoporosis,” Prof. Nowson wrote in an e-mail.