REDUCE SALT TO “GAIN” HEALTHA shared commitment, without the need for sacrifi ces

REDUCE SALT TO “GAIN” HEALTHA shared commitment,

without the need for sacrifi ces

Mediterranean Diet Pyramid

A contemporary approach to delicious, healthy eating

(Barilla adaptation from Oldways Preservation and Exchange Trust)

For over 130 years, Barilla has been the Italian family company that has seen food as a communal event, fi lled with fl avour and love, helping people live better.

Barilla is the company that helps to safeguard and improve people’s wellbeing and health:• by transforming high quality nutritional ingredients into tasty, healthy foods that satisfy the daily nutritional needs of the whole family; • by developing its own products that respect the Mediterranean Nutritional Model and the environment.

We genuinely believe that this twofold goal of protecting people’s health and the environment is achievable: the Mediterranean Nutritional Model is the fundamental benchmark for promoting the right, healthy eating habits, and the foods that are the basis for this Model are also the ones that have the least impact on the environment.

Barilla’s commitment is expressed in the way it shares the culture of the Mediterranean Nutri-tional Model, as a positive, contemporary model for choosing to eat foods that are good for us and the world in which we live.

FOOD AND NUTRITION: A STORY OF COMMITMENT AND PASSION

WHY IT ISIMPORTANT TOREDUCE SALT INTAKE

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We need some salt. We have used it for centu-ries to preserve and fl avour foods and it is the

body’s main source of sodium, an essential element for life, but not one that should be

eaten in excess. Salt is 60% chlorine and 40%

sodium.

The sources of sodium in food, as shown in fi gure 1, are: processed foods, as well as those eaten outside the home; the salt added by cooks in their own kitchen or at the table; natural foods (fruit, vegetables, meat etc).

SALT: DO WE EAT TOO MUCH? According to statistics, both in the USA and in Europe, 1,2,3 salt intake is too high, at levels of up to (and in some cases over) 9-10 grams a day.3 In Italy too, according to the Italian National Research Institute for Food and Nutrition (IN-RAN) and the Italian Society for Human Nutri-

Moderating your dailyintake of salt has a positive infl uence on the healthof your heart and yourcirculation

Figure 1 - Sources of the salt consumed every day (Europe and North America): 4

77% from processedor restaurant foods

13% added in thekitchen or at the table

10% presentnaturally in foods

tion (SINU), we eat too much salt. 5,6 We should be eating a total of one teaspoon of salt a day (including the salt naturally contained in food) and yet our daily average reaches and sometimes exceeds 10g a day (1 heaped tablespoon).

How much salt is there in the foodswe eat?

(Taken from INRAN. Food composition tables) 7

Food Amount of sodium (mg/100g for example)

Dry-cured ham, without bones 2.238

Pecorino cheese 1.800

Bresaola 1.597

Tomato ketchup 1.120

Crisps, in a bag 1.070

Taleggio cheese 873

Uncooked frankfurter 793

Tomato pizza 775

Rye bread 580

Milk rolls 460

Emmental 450

Beans - Cannellini in a tin, drained 431

Croissants 390

Tuna, in oil, drained 316

Whole hen’s egg 137

Fresh salmon 98

Mixed frozen vegetables: peas, corn, carrots, beans

59

Whole milk yoghurt 48

Cutting chicory 7

Salad tomatoes 3

Bananas 1

Fresh apples (Renetta) trace

Calculated by Strazzullo et al. 2009

Figure 2 - Estimated effects of reducing salt by

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WHY TOO MUCH SALT IS DANGEROUS? Too much sodium in the body can be dangerous: because of its effect on blood pressure; because of the impact on health caused by cardiovascular diseases; for the potential effects on stomach cancer.8

In contrast, reducing salt intake has a docu-mented positive effect on blood pressure, and so from that on the health of our heart, arteries and brain. Even a modest reduction in the daily intake of sodium can bring with it a positive impact on people’s health and major benefi ts in terms of healthcare costs. 9

Scientifi c studies spanning more than forty years on around 177.000 people from different coun-tries show that fi ve grams less salt a day results in a relative reduction in the risk of a heart attack (- 17%) or a stroke (- 23%).10

-5 gsalt/day

-23%risk of a stroke

-17%risk of a heart

attack

ris

ri

THE “GAINING HEALTH” PROGRAMME

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Since 2009, the EU has compiled recommenda-tions, based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations, for reducing salt in foods. Italy has demonstrated its commitment to these recommendations with its “Guadagnare salute - Rendere facili le scelte salutari” (Gain-ing health - Making healthy choices easy) pro-gramme, launched by the Ministry of Health.

Among other recommendations, the initiative encourages the primary manufacturers and food processing industry to gradually reduce the level of salt added to products. 11

The majority of sodium intake from food is not from adding salt when cooking or at the table, but rather from industrially manufactured food and food that we eat outside the home, as shown in fi gure 1. 4 In a country like Italy, bread and pizzas (as well as salamis and cheese) are consumed in very high quantities. So reducing the amount of salt used when preparing foods, such as bread for example, can make a valuable contribution to our health and wellbeing, without forcing us to make exces-sive sacrifi ces.

Reducing salt in foods: a strategic objective in Italy and the world

Five critical years for health

2006 The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends a reduction in daily salt intake given its impact on health.3

2007 The European Union adds a similar recommendation in its white paper, “A Strategy on Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity-related health issues”.2

2008 In the USA, the National Salt Reduction Initiative (NSRI) is launched, based on the British model, in response to the continued excessive consumption of salt.3

2009 Europe too adopts the “National Salt Reduction Initiative”, aimed at continuing initiatives inten-ded to reduce salt intake, with a particular focus on 12 food categories including bread.2

2010 The Council of Europe offi cially recommends the pursuit of this goal.12

The Italian Ministry of Health launches the “Guadagnare salute - Rendere facili le scelte salutari” (Gaining health - Making healthy choices easy) programme.11

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Focusing on over 100products, the company will reduce the salt used in the production process by 11% by the end of 2011

BARILLA IS SIGNED UP TO THE “GAIN-ING HEALTH” PROGRAMME Alongside its commitment to adopting the Medi-terranean Model as a cultural and nutritional point of reference, Barilla has also established its

own Nutrition guidelines for the development

of new products. These include limits for salt, fat, fi bre and sugar content, inspired by interna-tional guidelines and also backed up by scientifi c

BARILLA’SCOMMITMENT

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Already less salt from 2011:

Product groups Average salt reduction in reformulated products

(considerable variations from product to product)

Mulino Bianco pani soffi ci (soft bread) - 17%

Harry’s pani soffi ci - 13%

Wasa crispbread - 19%

Mulino Bianco and pavesi dry bread substitutes - 20%

Barilla tomato-based sauces - 23%

Barilla pasta ripiena (fi lled pasta) - 23%

For more information contact:.................................. www.gruppobarilla.it

research. As far as salt is concerned, Barilla’s par-ticipation to the “Gaining Health” programme has helped it achieve a signifi cant reduction in the salt content of some categories of its food products marketed in Italy and Europe, all in a very short time. In particular, by the end of 2011, working on more

than 100 products, the company will remove over 600 tonnes of salt overall (equivalent to 11% of the salt used by the company), mainly in breads, crackers and prepared sauces. A large proportion of the products in these categories did not need adjustments, as they were already in line with the reduced salt levels.

• • Reduce salt gradually to help people get used to the taste;

• • Rebalance the aromatic profi les of products;

• • Use different proportions of the key ingredients.

Barilla’s strategy to reduce salt in its products

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HOW TO CUT DOWNON SALT WITHOUT MAKING

UNNECESSARY SACRIFICES

As well as the salt reduction achieved by Barilla and the “Gaining Health” campaign, every one of us personally affects our own health. Reducing the amount of salt in our diet is not as diffi cult as it might sound.

Reduce or moderatesalt intake is ourresponsability: it is not as diffi cult as it may seem

A FEW HANDY COOKING TIPS

Add some chopped herbs in lemon juice (or vinegar) to marinate food before you roast it

Add some chilli peppers when cooking to enhance the fl avour of pasta or sautéed vegetables

Add handful of carrots, celery and onion in water when boiling food

Add dusting of nutmeg for potatoes or caulifl ower

Add sage, bay, juniper berries and garlic for roasts

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Both at the table and in the kitchen, gradually reduce the amount of salt you add to food

Avoid putting a salt shaker on the table and reduce the amount of salt used in cooking and for seasoning

Do not add salt to baby food, at least for the whole of your child’s fi rst year. Reduce the use of alternative seasonings that contain sodium

Remember that salt enhances fl avours and it can be an essential ingredient in cooking, but some foods don’t need salt to taste good

Use raw or frozen rather than canned vegetables

Reduce your consumption of foods with a high salt content, and get used to choo-sing less salty alternatives, by reading the nutritional information on products

Even when you’re in a restaurant, choose dishes that are not too salty

Use spices, herbs, lemon juice and vinegar to “trick” your palate

Only drink water to replenish the liquids lost during physical activity

Follow the Mediterranean model as clo-sely as possible by eating fresh foods that have been processed as little as possible and are naturally low in salt.

Ten simple suggestions for cutting down on salt (from the NationalResearch Institute for Food andNutrition-Italy):7

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REFERENCES AND SOURCES

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1. Bernstein AM, Willett WC. Am J Clin Nutr 2010;92(5):1172-80.

2. UE - European Commission Public Health. National Salt Initiatives. June 2009.

3. WHO - World Health Organization. Creating an enabling environment for population-based salt reduction strategies. July 2010.

4. Brown IJ, Tzoulaki I, Candeias V, Elliott P. Int J Epidemiol 2009;38(3):791-813.

5. INRAN. Il sale? Meglio poco. Linea Guida n.6. http://www.inran.it/fi les/download/linee_guida/lineeguida_06.pdf

6. SINU Società Italiana di Nutrizione Umana. LARN Minerali. http://www.sinu.it/larn/mineral1.asp#SODIO

7. INRAN. Tabelle di composizione degli alimenti. http://www.inran.it/646/tabelle_di_composizione_degli_alimenti.html

8. World Health Organization. Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases. Report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation. WHO Technical Report Series, No. 916. Geneva World Health Organization 2003.

9. Bibbins-Domingo K, Chertow GM, Coxson PG et al. N Engl J Med 2010;362(7):519.

10. Strazzullo P, D’Elia L, Kandala N - B, Cappuccio FP. BMJ 2009;339:b4567.

11. Ministero per la Salute. Poco sale per… guadagnare salute. http://www.salute.gov.it/imgs/C_17_pubblicazioni_605_allegato.pdf

12. Heart Wire. Réduction du sel alimentaire: les Européens passent aux actes. The Heart.org 2010. http://www.theheart.org/article/1107511.doc