The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has condemned the manufacturers of packaged food products for intentionally and dangerously ignoring the long-standing guidelines for salt content.
A new CDC report has showed that a highly concerning proportion of packaged foods are overstepping the federal guidelines due to the presence of inadvisably high salt concentrations. Moreover, this is not always brought to the attention of the buyer with desired importance.
The consumption of high concentration of salt is responsible for causing high blood pressure and other health issues. Hence, the public health authorities have been making rigorous efforts for decades to reduce salt use by the manufacturers of food products.
The CDC study confirmed that there were excessive salt levels present during the manufacturing of packaged foods across all participating regions of the country.
According to the study, the items that were the worst-offenders were the packaged products that contained pasta and meat. The study found that 80 percent of such instances overstepped the federal guidelines for salt intake. Pizzas also contained too much salt in 70 percent of cases. On the other hand, more than half of all soups and cold cuts were loaded with unhealthy salt levels.
“Americans consume an average of 3,500 milligrams (mg) of sodium each day (excluding salt added at the table). But the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010, recommend limiting sodium to less than 2,300 mg a day. About six in 10 adults should further limit sodium to 1,500 mg a day,” said the official report of the federal health body.
The CDC study’s findings showed that up to 77 percent of the salt consumed by the average Americans comes from take-out food, restaurant meals and packaged products in comparison to the meals cooked at home.
