Industry activity

About 75% of the salt we eat is already in the foods we buy, the majority in processed foods. The FSA has been working with the food industry to encourage reductions in the levels of salt in these foods.

All sectors of the food industry - retailers, manufacturers, trade associations, caterers and suppliers to the catering industry - have responded positively to calls to reduce salt in foods and continue to be engaged in this programme. The FSA now has commitments to reduce levels of salt in food from 70 organisations across all sectors of the industry and some considerable reductions have already been achieved. For details see the Summary table of commitments to salt reduction.

Salt targets

Following a public consultation in August 2005, the FSA published voluntary salt reduction targets in March 2006. The aim of the targets is to help guide the food industry as to the type of foods in which salt reductions are required, and the level of reduction needed to help progression towards the FSA's strategic plan target of reducing salt intakes to 6g per day. The targets cover 85 categories of processed foods, including everyday foods such as bread, bacon, ham, breakfast cereals and cheese, and convenience foods such as pizza, ready meals, savoury snacks, cakes and pastries.

The salt targets have been set at challenging levels that will have a real impact on consumers' intakes, while also taking into account food safety and technical issues. The majority of organisations that have made commitments to the Agency on salt reduction are now working towards the salt targets. To find out more, see 'Progress with industry in relation to salt reduction' on the main Agency site.

The FSA is now in the process of devising a self-reporting framework, which will be used to track progress by the food industry towards achieving the targets. The FSA will be reviewing the salt reduction targets in 2008 to establish what, if any, further reductions are necessary to reach the population average intake target of 6g.

Retailers

Major retailers, including Asda, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose, as well as Iceland, Co-op, Somerfield, Budgens and Spar, are working towards the FSA's voluntary salt reduction targets with some, such as Waitrose, Asda and Co-op, planning to meet the targets before 2010.

  • Half of Tesco own-brand products (50%) now meet the salt targets.
  • Marks and Spencer are aiming to meet the FSA targets in key areas as a maximum, rather than an average.
  • Sainsbury's has reduced levels of salt in its own-brand standard sliced bread to meet the targets, which is one of the top-three products in Sainsbury's shoppers' baskets.
  • Boots sandwiches now meet the FSA salt targets.

Manufacturers

Major manufacturers such as McCain, Heinz, Bernard Matthews, Premier Foods, Northern Foods, Nestlé and Unilever, are all working towards achieving the salt reduction targets.

  • McCain has halved the salt content of some of its potato products and has launched a 'no added salt' product.
  • Unilever has built the FSA targets into all cook-in sauce projects from 2006 onwards and more than 60% of products now meet the targets. In addition, Unilever has now included salt reduction targets for its Pot Noodle snack range and aims to achieve an average 25% reduction across the range.
  • Heinz has reduced the amount of salt in baked beans and canned pasta by around a third, and has recently introduced a new reduced-salt tomato ketchup, which has a level below the 2010 targets.
  • Kraft has reduced levels of salt in its cheese spreads and snack products by 33%.
  • Birds Eye ready meals now all contain less than 2g of salt.

Caterers

A number of caterers are also working towards the salt targets including 3663, Brakes, and Scolarest.

  • 3663 has reduced the salt in its own-brand products by about a quarter (26%), and remains committed to reducing levels by 50% overall.
  • KFC no longer pre-salts its fries.
  • McDonalds has reduced the amount of salt in its products by between 14% and 75% and is continuing to make further reductions.
  • Compass Group, a large contract caterer that provides meals to schools and hospitals, has a programme to review levels of salt in products and requires suppliers to meet, or to be working towards, the FSA salt targets.

Trade Associations

Association of Cereal Food Manufacturers (ACFM), and the Snacks, Nuts and Crisps Manufacturers Association are working towards the FSA salt targets.

  • Between 1998-2006 the ACFM has reduced the amount of salt in breakfast cereals by 38%.
  • The Federation of Bakers has reduced the amount of salt in pre-packed sliced bread by about a third (30%).
  • The Food and Drink Federation, as part of Project Neptune, has reduced the amount of salt in soups and sauces by around a quarter (25% and 29% respectively).