In response to a study by Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (Lacors), which suggests food manufacturers may be reducing the serving sizes stated on labels to make salt content seem as low as possible, Alex Callaghan, Policy Officer at the British Heart Foundation (BHF) said:
?Too much salt in the diet can raise blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for the development of heart disease.
?The research published today highlights how misleading some food labelling can be, and is exactly why the BHF have been championing traffic light labelling as the right way to help people make healthy choices in supermarket aisles.
?The simple traffic light colours provide an at-a-glance guide to whether individual products contain a lot of salt. We?d like to see all food manufacturers and retailers using this Food Standards Agency backed scheme.
?Adopting traffic light labelling isn?t the only step the food industry can take to protect the health of shoppers ? committing to reducing the salt content of all foods to meet the FSA?s salt reduction targets is also essential.?