Turkey aims daily salt consumption under 5 grams

By Yesim Sert Karaaslan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey aims to reduce daily salt consumption per capita to 5 grams, according to the country's Health Ministry.

The ministry plans to achieve this by making the necessary arrangements at school canteens with the cooperation of relevant ministries, as well as representatives of the food sector.

The world is marking Salt Awareness Week from March 9 to 15 to help raise awareness of the damaging effects of too much salt to our health.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adults should consume less than 5g of salt per day.

The Turkish Health Ministry's diet guide says that high salt consumption can lead to cardiovascular and kidney diseases, hypertension, stroke, osteoporosis, and some cancer types.

As per a study the ministry conducted, the daily salt consumption in Turkey is around 10.2g per person.

Since the figure is twice high than what the UN health body recommends, the Turkish ministry is making efforts to reduce it.

- Salt reduction program

In this context, the Health Ministry initiated a salt reduction program.

As part of the initiative, the ministry and Federation of Food and Drink Industry Associations of Turkey signed an agreement to reduce salt and sugar in packaged foods.

To reduce salt and sugar consumption in restaurants, the ministry signed another protocol with the Federation of Restauranteurs and Confectioners of Turkey last February.

Meanwhile, another cooperation with the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry led to reduced salt in bread, tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, cheese, and olives.

In collaboration with the Education Ministry, chocolate and candies were banned in schools after prohibition of fizzy drinks and chips.

A government-approved logo was also designed for food products to be sold at schools.

According to the WHO, member states agreed to reduce the global population’s intake of salt by a relative 30% by 2025.

"Reducing salt intake has been identified as one of the most cost-effective measures countries can take to improve population health outcomes," the organization said.

Around 2.5 million deaths, it added, could be prevented each year if global salt consumption was reduced to the recommended level.