Restaurateurs are increasingly leaving the salt… for substitutes

QMI agency

Sunday, 11 march, 2018 15:04

UPDATE
Sunday, 11 march, 2018 15:06

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Almost two dishes on three sold in large chains of rapid recovery in Canada contain a substitute for salt or a substance that amplifies the taste, shows a recent study conducted at the University of Toronto.

To achieve this result, the researchers compiled the data offered by restaurants on their websites as to the ingredients and the amount of salt entering in their dishes. They then compared the evolution of the composition of 222 a meal by 12 chains, including Mcdonald’s, Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Subway, from 2010 to 2016.

During this period of time, 140 meals have seen the amount of salt entering into their composition to decline, while 82 are still too salty.

Researchers have, however, noted in their article published Wednesday on the website of the “Canadian Medical Association Journal” that substitutes for salt are now used in 69% of the meal and that all the chains use. On average, the dishes containing substitutes have seen the amount of salt component is a drop of 190 mg per serving, compared to only 40 mg per serving for those not containing. “This trend was detectable in all categories of food and especially the burgers”, according to the researchers.

The yeast extract is proving to be the substitutes for the most popular, as they are present in 30 % of the meals analyzed. Following the calcium chloride (28 %), monosodium glutamate (14 %), potassium chloride (12 %), hydrolysed vegetable protein (8 %) and lactate (4 %).

The scientists noted that 100 % of the tacos, burritos and pizzas contain substitutes for salt.

Last January, Health Canada has published a study showing that the food industry was struggling to reduce the amount of salt in its products. Voluntary targets for reduction suggested by Ottawa have been achieved in only 13 categories of food: 94, from 2012 to 2016.

Approximately four out of five Canadians consume more than the critical threshold of 2,300 mg of salt per day, while Health Canada recommends not to exceed 1500 mg. Excess salt may exacerbate the risk of having high blood pressure, thus increasing the chances of coronary heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.