Guest guest Posted April 22, 2010 Report Share Posted April 22, 2010 I just watched the documentary “Food, Inc.” on PBS. Not to be missed. It’s an eye-opener about what’s in our food, and what we’re eating in the U.S. (hint: it’s becoming less and less what nature intended, with additives, antibiotics, e-coli contamination, and more. Workers and animals are treated inhumanely and meat and poultry are raised in environments knee deep in feces and contamination. Cattle and even fish are fed corn which is an unnatural food for them and so are injected with anitbiotics to keep them alive til slaughter. All in the name of profits. Small farmers are being forced out of business since they can’t compete. I’ll never buy a non=organic, antibiotic injected chicken again. The industry, especially the big corporations, and the fast=food giants have run amok. On 4/21/10 12:23 PM, " Diane W " <dianepwalter@...> wrote: My view is that the food industry has gone crazy with added salt and sugar. I'd like to be able to buy a jar of spaghetti sauce every once in awhile because I don't necessarily have the time to make it. But the salt content of the processed stuff is through the roof! The FDA wouldn't be limiting the amount of salt an individual eats. You can add all the salt you want to foods. But it would be nice for people who do care about how much salt they eat to be able to buy processed foods every once in awhile without getting the overload. And there are people out there, like my husband, who did not realize how bad salt is for them and would in principle like to limit it but don't want to bother counting milligrams. It's about eliminating the hidden salt in people's diets, not keeping people from eating salt. I see it as sort of like a seat belt law, or like train crossing guards. In the long run they save society money because ultimately society pays for the costs of injury and death due to people who don't give a hoot. Diane > > >> > > > >> > About time.......... > > >> > > > >> > By Lyndsey Layton > > >> > Washington Post Staff Writer > > >> > Tuesday, April 20, 2010 > > >> > > > >> > The Food and Drug Administration is planning an unprecedented effort to > > >> > gradually reduce the salt consumed each day by Americans, saying that less > > >> > sodium in everything from soup to nuts would prevent thousands of deaths > > >> > from hypertension and heart disease. The initiative, to be launched this > > >> > year, would eventually lead to the first legal limits on the amount of salt > > >> > allowed in food products. > > >> > > > >> > The government intends to work with the food industry and health experts to > > >> > reduce sodium gradually over a period of years to adjust the American > > >> palate > > >> > to a less salty diet, according to FDA sources, who spoke on condition of > > >> > anonymity because the initiative had not been formally announced. > > >> > > > >> > Officials have not determined the salt limits. In a complicated > > >> undertaking, > > >> > the FDA would analyze the salt in spaghetti sauces, breads and thousands of > > >> > other products that make up the $600 billion food and beverage market, > > >> > sources said. Working with food manufacturers, the government would set > > >> > limits for salt in these categories, designed to gradually ratchet down > > >> > sodium consumption. The changes would be calibrated so that consumers > > >> barely > > >> > notice the modification. > > >> > > > >> > The legal limits would be open to public comment, but administration > > >> > officials do not think they need additional authority from Congress. > > >> > > > >> > " This is a 10-year program, " one source said. " This is not rolling off a > > >> > log. We're talking about a comprehensive phase-down of a widely used > > >> > ingredient. We're talking about embedded tastes in a whole generation of > > >> > people. " > > >> > > > >> > The FDA, which regulates most processed foods, would be joined in the > > >> effort > > >> > by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees meat and poultry. > > >> > > > >> > Currently, manufacturers can use as much salt as they like in products > > >> > because under federal standards, it falls into the category deemed > > >> > " generally recognized as safe. " Foodmakers are merely required to report >> > > the > > >> > amount on nutrition labels. > > >> > > > >> > But for the past 30 years, health officials have grown increasingly alarmed > > >> > as salt intake has increased with the explosion in processed foods and > > >> > restaurant meals. Most adults consume about twice the government's daily > > >> > recommended limit, according to the Centers for Disease Control and > > >> > Prevention. > > >> > > > >> > Until now, the government has pushed the food industry to voluntarily > > >> reduce > > >> > salt and tried to educate consumers about the dangers of excessive sodium. > > >> > But in a study to be released Wednesday, an expert panel convened by the > > >> > Institute of Medicine concludes that those measures have failed. The panel > > >> > will recommend that the government take action, according to sources > > >> > familiar with the findings. > > >> > > > >> > Although the specifics of the government's plans have not been made public, > > >> > the food industry has been bracing for a federal initiative. > > >> > > > >> > " We're working on it voluntarily already, " said Musiker, senior > > >> > manager of science policy, nutrition and health at the Grocery > > >> Manufacturers > > >> > Association. In recent months, Conagra, Pepsico, Kraft Foods, General > > >> Mills, > > >> > Sara Lee and others have announced that they would reduce sodium in many of > > >> > their products. Pepsico has developed a new shape for sodium chloride > > >> > crystals that the company hopes will allow it to reduce salt by 25 percent > > >> > in its Lay's Classic potato chips. > > >> > > > >> > Morton Satin, director for technical and regulatory affairs at the Salt > > >> > Institute, which represents salt producers, said regulation " would be a > > >> > disaster for the public. " He said that the science regarding sodium is > > >> > unclear and that consumption does not necessarily lead to health problems. > > >> > > > >> > " If you consume a lot of salt, you also get rid of a lot of salt -- it > > >> > doesn't mean it's an excess, " he said. " I want to make sure they're basing > > >> > this on everything that is in the scientific literature, so we don't end up > > >> > being guinea pigs because someone thinks they're doing something good. " > > >> > > > >> > son of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which > > >> > first petitioned the FDA to regulate sodium in 1978, said voluntary efforts > > >> > by industry are laudable, " but they could change their minds tomorrow. . . > > . > > >> > Limiting sodium might be the single most important thing the FDA can to do > > >> > to promote health. " > > >> > > > >> > In January, New York City launched a campaign against salt, urging food > > >> > manufacturers and chain restaurants to voluntarily reduce sodium by 25 > > >> > percent in their products nationwide over the next five years. Baltimore, > > >> > Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and the District are among a list of cities > > >> > supporting the New York initiative. > > >> > > > >> > A recent study by researchers at Columbia and Stanford universities and the > > >> > University of California at San Francisco found that cutting salt intake by > > >> > 3 grams a day could prevent tens of thousands of heart attacks, strokes and > > >> > cases of heart disease. > > >> > > > >> > Most salt eaten by Americans -- 77 percent -- comes from processed foods, > > >> > making it difficult for consumers to limit salt to healthy levels, experts > > >> > say. > > >> > > > >> > " We can't just rely on the individual to do something, " said Cheryl > > >> > , an epidemiologist at the s Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public > > >> > Health who served on the Institute of Medicine committee. " Food > > >> > manufacturers have to reduce the amount of sodium in foods. " > > >> > > > >> > Reducing salt across the food supply will be a massive and technically > > >> > challenging project. Although many artificial sweeteners have been > > >> > discovered, there is no salt substitute. > > >> > > > >> > Humans have an innate taste for salt, which is needed for some basic > > >> > biological functions. But beyond flavor, salt is also used as a > > >> preservative > > >> > to inhibit microbial growth; it gives texture and structure to certain > > >> > foods; and it helps leaven and brown baked goods. > > >> > > > >> > K. Beauchamp, a psychobiologist and director of the Monell Chemical > > >> > Senses Center in Philadelphia, said salt also provides another, less > > >> > understood quality. " It gives something that food people refer to as > > >> > 'mouthfeel,' " said Beauchamp, who also served on the Institutes of > > >> Medicine > > >> > committee. " For some soups, for instance, it's not just the salty taste -- > > >> > sodium makes the soup feel thicker. " > > >> > > > >> > Policymakers will have to decide whether to exempt inherently salty foods, > > >> > such as pickles, while mandating changes in other products to reduce the > > >> > overall sodium levels in the food supply. > > >> > > > >> > Above all, government officials and food industry executives say, a product > > >> > with reduced salt must still taste good, or it will flop in the > > >> marketplace, > > >> > as evidenced by several low-sodium products that had abysmal sales. > > >> > > > >> > " Historically, consumers have found low-sodium products haven't been of the > > >> > quality that's expected, " said Todd Abraham, senior vice president of > > >> > research and nutrition for Kraft Foods. " We're all trying to maintain the > > >> > delicious quality of the product but one that consumers recognize as > > >> > healthier. " > > >> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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