Canada shuns mandatory sodium reduction

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OTTAWA -- The federal government's expert panel on sodium has struck a deal between public-health advocates and the food industry to back a "carefully designed" voluntary plan to reduce the dangerously high sodium consumption of Canadians.

Under pressure to produce a blueprint after three years of talks, Health Canada's sodium working group, set to release its report today, falls short of backing regulations right away to force food companies and restaurants to cut sodium levels. But the group calls on Health Canada to establish an independent monitoring and evaluation system to track if food companies and restaurants cut enough salt from specific products to meet the overall objective of reducing the average sodium intake of Canadians to 2,300 milligrams per day by 2016.

The results will be published and analyzed to determine if "stronger measures" are necessary to meet the target, according to internal media talking points developed for members of the working group and obtained by Postmedia News.

"Should additional measures become necessary, there is always that option," the document states.

Medical experts have warned excessive sodium consumption is linked to increased blood pressure, a risk factor for stroke, heart attacks, kidney disease and heart failure. In Canada, about one in four people has hypertension and it's estimated high sodium intake is to blame in three-quarters of the cases.

Currently, the estimated average daily sodium consumption is 3,400 mg per day -- about 1.5 teaspoons of salt -- and far in excess of the recommended daily intake of 1,500 mg.

The lower amount is the group's ultimate goal, but the panel declined to set a date to reach the 1,500-mg average daily intake, according to the talking points.

"That's hard to say with certainty since this is really the first national strategy for sodium reduction ever developed in Canada," the document states.

The group characterizes the 2016 target of 2,300 mg as "realistic and necessary."

The group is also recommending new labelling rules that could see changes to the way nutritional information related to sodium is presented on food packaging, according to the document.

The release of the Canadian Sodium Reduction Strategy, which is to include 27 specific recommendations, comes two months after the U.S.-based Institute of Medicine told the Food and Drug Administration that binding targets set out in regulations are necessary because voluntary efforts by the food industry have failed.

"Regulatory action is necessary because four decades of public education campaigns about the dangers of excess salt and voluntary sodium cutting efforts by the food industry have generally failed to make a dent in Americans' intakes," the report concluded.

Health advocates involved in developing the sodium reduction recommendations declined to provide specifics.

-- Postmedia News

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 29, 2010 A8