Contract caterers to fly the flag in drive to reduce salt intake

Contract caterers will be at the forefront of the Government's campaign to reduce salt intake because they feed the most vulnerable in society, according to Bob Cotton, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association.

Cotton told delegates at the BHA's Food and Service Management conference in London last week: "There'll be a whole range of low-salt initiatives in the coming months and contract caterers will be at the vanguard of what's required."

Lower-salt options in schools and hospitals would eventually influence what was served in railways, airports and the high street, said Cotton. A Government-encouraged drive to reduce saturated fat and sugar would follow.

The average daily intake of salt is 9g a day, but the Government's target is to reduce this to 6g. "At the moment you can't do much about it because it's already in the food you consume, so we've got to work within the whole food chain," added John Dyson, the BHA's technical services adviser.

The Government's food agenda had switched from scares to public health issues because of the rising costs of obesity, said Dyson. If obesity costs rose at the present rate, they would reach £3.6b by 2010.

This figure would cover not only medical expenses but also the costs of dealing with bigger people. Wider seats would have to be installed on buses, trains and aeroplanes, and hospital operating theatres, tables and beds would also have to be bigger, Dyson warned.

He argued that obesity was not the responsibility of the food industry. Average calorific intake, which hasn't risen in the last 10 years, proved that obesity was primarily the result of an increasingly sedentary way of life.

Nevertheless, he said it was in the interests of manufacturers and providers to work with the Government and consumers to find ways of reducing salt, fat, and sugar while maintaining taste, texture and consumer acceptability.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 1 - 7 April 2004