Americans Demand Salt in Diets Despite Warnings from Nutritionists

Physicians and nutritionists are warning that Americans are consuming too much salt and recommend that even healthy adults cut back to less than about a teaspoon a day to avoid hypertension.

But food researchers say low-salt foods don't sell in supermarkets, and there's no substitute for table salt that's not toxic or that fits consumer tastes.

Guy Johnson of Johnson Nutrition Solutions, a food-consulting group, said that although there are about 20 chemical substances that can replace sugar in the diet, there's none available for salt.

"There is no 'Nutra-salt,' " Johnson said.

And consumers haven't accepted reducing salt in food.

Of the 125 low-sodium products introduced in supermarkets since 2000, Johnson said that none is selling well. He noted that there are many low-sodium soups on shelves, but even though soups are big sellers in winter, low-salt products account for just $19 million of the $2.9 billion soup market.

"Taste rules," Johnson told members of the Institute of Food Technologists convention in New Orleans. "The demand for low-sodium food is lackluster."

Americans consume an average of 3,375 milligrams of salt a day, which is much higher than the 2,300 milligrams (about one teaspoon) recommended by the federal government. Physicians recommend the 65 million Americans with high blood pressure or water-retention problems consume much less than that.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington interest group, said salt could be the deadliest ingredient in the food supply, leading to strokes, heart attacks and kidney disease. The CSPI is suing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to force the agency to limit salt content in food as it does other additives. Salt is currently treated as an ingredient "generally accepted as safe" and so is unregulated.

Michael Jacobson, executive director of the group, said medical studies have repeatedly shown for the last 25 years that salt content in food is too high. But, he added, the food industry hasn't responded.

"It's not going to happen voluntarily _ we've actually got more salt in our diets in the last 25 years," he said.

His organization said salt content varies widely in similar foods, depending on the producer. For example, among American cheeses, the CSPI found that salt content ranges from 1,285 milligrams per 100 grams of Kraft American Singles, to 1,737 milligrams per 100 grams of Giant Deluxe American Singles. Among hams, the group found that there are 865 milligrams of salt in each 100 grams of Healthy Choice Honey Ham, but 1,490 milligrams of salt in each 100 grams of Tyson 97 percent Fat Free Honey Ham.

Jacobson agreed food would not taste as good without salt, but he said there's little taste difference between Armor's Jumbo Hotdogs and Nathan's Bigger Than The Bun, even though the Armor product has one-third more sodium. "Nathan's sells well," Jacobson said.

He also argued that food processors could do more to find creative ways of replacing salt. "Companies do not make an effort," he said.

Some packaged and specialty foods have very high levels of salt. Swanson's Hungry Man XXL Roasted Carved Turkey contains 5,410 milligrams of salt in a package. La Choy Soy Sauce has 1,260 milligrams of sodium per tablespoon.

The food industry is taking a second look at salt levels in food, especially after England's Food Standards Agency in 2003 told processors to reduce salt in food by one-third. And in the United States, the Institute of Medicine, an organization that is part of the National Academy of Sciences, recently recommended that Americans and Canadians reduce salt consumption to 1,500 milligrams a day.

"The wind is blowing from England that sodium has to be reduced in food," said Gary Beauchamp of Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.

Beauchamp said his company is researching ways of enhancing the salty taste using other ingredients. He said there are practical barriers to reducing salt because the chemical plays a key role in preserving foods and fighting microbes.

Alexander Logan, a senior research physician at a University of Toronto center and expert on hypertension and kidney disorders, said that while older people with high blood pressure should reduce salt consumption, there's conflicting information whether high consumption causes any harm in healthy adults.

"I think there's insufficient evidence to make a recommendation for the general population," Logan said. "It's a moot issue for the majority of the population."