Bread the leading culprit in Kiwis’ high sodium diet

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Bread the leading culprit in Kiwis’ high sodium diet

Kiwis are being exposed to unhealthy amounts of salt, a
long-term food study has revealed.

Food manufacturers have been given a big tick for reducing the
salt they’re putting in food – but we are still eating more than is
good for us, according to the five-yearly Total Diet Study,
released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry today.

Bacon buttie lovers need to switch to unprocessed meat, fresh
tomatoes instead of tomato sauce, and perhaps skip the processed
cheese and white bread all together.

The survey’s nutrition manager David Roberts said many food
manufacturers had reduced the levels of sodium being added
products, but some still had a way to go.

Since the last survey, sodium levels the population was exposed
to had come down.

Many bread and cereal makers, for example, were adding less
sodium to their products, low salt options were available for many
products, and this was having an impact on how much salt people
were consuming.

“The products are there on the supermarket shelves. It’s whether
the consumer is ready to accept and purchase those products.”

While some manufacturers added salt for preserving food, in
other instances it was added just for taste.

Both the bread industry and the consumer had a role to play in
reducing sodium intakes, Roberts said.

The survey’s project manager Cherie Flynn said it was pleasing
to see sodium levels were coming down.

The greatest individual food contributing to sodium intake was
bread, closely followed by processed red meat and takeaways were
also a significant contributor.

The survey also showed that New Zealand had one of the safest
food supplies in the world, Flynn said.

The levels of lead New Zealanders were exposed to through their
food intake were as low now as could reasonably be achieved.

The study tested 123 commonly eaten foods for chemical residues,
contaminants and nutrient elements.

Estimated dietary exposures to the 241 agricultural compound
residues tested for were all well below their relevant acceptable
daily intakes.

Testing for mercury, methyl mercury, cadmium and arsenic also
showed New Zealanders had no cause for concern of exposure to these
contaminants through their diets.

However ESR senior scientist Richard Vannoort said it was
important to remember that all foods needed to be consumed in
moderation, as it was the dose of a product that made it toxic.

Predatory fish such as sharks for example were high in mercury -
but people needed to remember that fish could form an important
part of a healthy diet by providing protein and fatty acids.

The survey confirmed that low exposure to iodine – which is
essential for mental and physical development – continued to be a
serious public health issue for New Zealand.

Flynn said the low level had plateaued which was good news.

Roberts said the 2009 requirement for some bread to be fortified
with iodised salt could be having a positive impact, but more work
was needed to confirm how much of a difference this was making.

Iodine is currently prescribed free to pregnant and
breastfeeding women to counteract the deficient levels in the New
Zealand diet.