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.
