National Salt Awareness Week 2010 High-Profile Supporters and Organisations
Anne Diamond - Journalist and health campaigner
“We should all be more aware of what’s in our food – and taking unnecessary salt out of it is the first step to health. We should all take personal responsibility by voting with our shopping bags – in other words, look at the label and don’t buy anything with too much salt! And, as well as that, we should put as much pressure as we can on the food industry to cut right back!”
Anthony Worrall Thompson - Chef
“I am pleased that the wide range of health problems contributed to by a high salt diet are being highlighted in the forthcoming National Salt Awareness Week. I fully support the event and urge the food industry to think about how much salt they add to our food”
Annabel Karmel - Nutritionist
“I am passionate about giving children the best start in life, and to do this a healthy diet is important. One key factor in this is reducing salt intake, to avoid health problems such as high blood pressure and osteoporosis later in life. To ensure that your child is not consuming too much salt, it is important to remember to check product labels in store. I fully support National Salt Awareness Week and I am pleased that the wide range of health conditions contributed to by a high salt diet are being highlighted in this years Salt Awareness Week”
Anton Edelmann - Chef
“I am pleased that the dangers of a high salt diet are being highlighted in the forthcoming National Salt Awareness Week. I fully support the event and urge the public to think about how much salt they consume, and to read the labels when purchasing processed foods”
The Children's Food Campaign (Sustain)
"The Children’s Food Campaign is a strong supporter of National Salt Awareness Week. We believe that it is very difficult for parents to monitor how much salt their children are eating because of inadequate food labelling. We call on the food industry to reduce the amount of salt in food products and to provide more helpful nutritional information on their labels. We are grateful to CASH for raising awareness of the many health related problems that a high salt diet can be associated with."
Peter Hardens - Editor of London Restaurant Guide
“I am pleased that the wide range of health problems contributed to by a high salt diet are being highlighted in the forthcoming National Salt Awareness Week. Too many restaurants and food chains are still far too liberal and unthinking in their use of salt, and seemingly in ignorance of its potential poor health consequences. But it can be nothing more than a lazy and cheap way of adding flavour to food, or a knee-jerk obeisance to tradition. I fully support the event and urge the food industry -- and in particular the restaurant trade -- to think about how much salt they add to our food”
Netmums.com - Parenting website
"From the Netmums survey we know that parents know that too much salt in children's diets can damage their health and there is a generally good understanding that too much dietary salt is linked to heart disease. But with so much of our sodium intake hidden in processed food it's difficult to always know how much salt our children are actually consuming without spending valuable time deciphering food labels. We are pleased that CASH are continuing to highlight the link between too much dietary salt and the variety of serious health related problems and I hope that the food industry react by continuing to reduce the salt they use in their food products"
Nigel Denby - Author, Dietician
"I am delighted to support Salt Awareness Week. The connection between too much salt in the diet and poor health is so well understood, we really can’t ignore it. Salt is an easy ingredient to reduce in our own home cooking and using GDA labels makes it easy to cut down the amount of salt we consume in the pre prepared foods we buy. GDAs (Guideline Daily Amounts) and GDA labels take the guesswork out of knowing what we should be eating. The benefit of the GDA system is that a quick glance at the GDA label on the packaging will give you all the nutritional facts you need to help you check, compare and choose the right product for you.”
Galton Blackiston - Celebrity Chef, Morston Hall
“I am pleased that the variety of health conditions contributed to by a high salt diet are being highlighted in this years National Salt Awareness Week. I fully support the event and encourage everyone to think about how much salt they are consuming. I also urge the food industry to reduce the salt that they add to processed foods."
The School Food Trust
"Reducing the salt content of children’s diets is just one of the aims of the new standards for school food, and National Salt Awareness Week is a great time to highlight the progress that’s been made. Salt can no longer be provided to pupils on tables or at service counters in the dining room, or added to food after cooking. The nutrient-based standards also set out maximum sodium levels for the average school lunch.
‘We know from our research that packed lunches are still often higher in salt than school meals, and that’s why we’re continuing to encourage more children to try a school lunch; with 10% of children obese when they start reception year, the well-balanced and nutritious menus on offer in schools have an important role to play in improving the health of children"