Unilever announces salt reduction strategy for foods portfolio
Published:28-April-2009
By Datamonitor staff writer
To target a dietary intake of six grams of salt per day by the end of 2010
Unilever has launched a global salt reduction strategy for its foods portfolio, covering over 22,000 products.
The Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company has committed to a reduction in salt across its products to target a dietary intake of six grams of salt per day by the end of 2010, with a further reduction targeting an intake of five grams per day for the end of 2015. The latter is in line with World Health Organization guidelines, while six grams is the recommended by most countries' food authorities.
Gert Meijer, vice president of nutrition and health for Unilever, said: "This is a unique approach as we are dealing with our portfolio in a holistic way in terms of daily dietary contribution, rather than only looking at the input of individual products, or simply launching a lower salt range.
"We measure the contribution of our products to daily salt intake in the context of their role within a typical menu looking at how often consumers usually eat products containing salt, and how much each product contributes to their daily diet. Unilever is reducing salt through recipe reformulations, salt replacers and enhancing the salty taste with aromas, herbs and spices."
Unilever's commitment to reduce salt in its portfolio is another step of the company's Nutrition Enhancement Program (NEP), launched in 2003, through which Unilever's entire food and beverage product portfolio is assessed on an ongoing basis to help to plan nutritional improvements.
According to the company, to date, the NEP has resulted in the removal of over 30,000 tons of trans fat, 18,000 tons of saturated fat, 9,100 tons of salt and 37,000 tons of sugar from across Unilever's global portfolio.
