Fat and salt intake still far too high despite 'better' food
IRISH people are eating twice as much saturated fat and a third more salt than is recommended.
This is despite efforts by the food industry which says it has invested heavily in offering healthier options to customers.
A new report by IBEC's Food and Drink Industry Ireland (FDII) group said that Irish companies were reformulating products to reduce fat and salt levels and had already achieved substantial reductions.
For example, people's average salt intake had been cut from 10g a day in 2004 to 8-8.5g in recent years due mainly to the industry's work to voluntarily reduce the amount of salt in processed foods such as bread, soup, cereal and sauces which are the main contributors to salt in our diet.
This is still well above the 6g a day target set by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, but efforts were continuing to reduce salt levels further despite the technical challenges this posed, the 'Enabling Healthier Lifestyles' report found.
Salt is a major contributor to high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.
The industry has also worked to reduce levels of unhealthy fats in products, and this has resulted in trans fats being eliminated from most products, the report said.
However, Irish people continue to eat far too much saturated fat -- which can clog the arteries and contribute to heart disease and obesity -- with the average adult eating 36g a day of it, almost twice the recommended 20g a day limit.
Consultant nutritionist Aveen Bannon agreed that Irish people consumed too much salt. "Our salt intake is absolutely too high and the trouble is that most of it comes from processed foods, so even if we cut down what we ourselves add to our food we'll still be getting too much of it."
Ms Bannon, a dietician with the Dublin Nutrition Centre, also concurred that most people ate too much saturated fat.
"Saturated fats are bad for the health and Irish people do consume more than they should, increasing their risk of heart disease," she said.
Improvements
She added that the food industry appeared to be making improvements, particularly in the level of fat in products.
"I know for instance that Marks and Spencer now has no hydrogenated fats in any of its food products," she said. "Some improvements have also been made with regard to salt and companies are now investing in alternative ways to flavour their products."
She said that despite the changes, Irish people must ultimately learn to read labels and to make the right choices.
FDII director Paul Kelly said the food industry recognised its role in delivering nutrition to the Irish population and had responded to consumers' demands for healthier and high quality food.
- Aideen Sheehan, Consumer Correspondent
