To mark Salt Awareness Week 2023, we have released a new report outlining the benefits of salt reduction and the need for Government action.

The UK’s salt reduction programme once led the world, achieving falls in salt intake, a drop in salt levels added to many food products, and a reduction in deaths from cardiovascular disease (e.g. heart disease, stroke). In recent years though, progress has stalled and salt reduction has fallen down the list of priorities. ‘Do nothing’ has become the default option, and that’s having huge consequences:

• Eating too much salt raises our risk of developing cardiovascular disease, the cause of 1 in 4 deaths in the UK
• People living in the most deprived areas are 4 times more likely to die from this than those in the most affluent areas
• 240,000 working years are lost due to cardiovascular disease
• England alone spends £7.4 billion on healthcare costs linked to cardiovascular disease every single year

Any action from the Government could help. They could encourage the food industry to use low-salt replacers, such as potassium-enriched salts, in their food products which would help lower our salt intake. They could expand the successful Soft Drinks Industry Levy – which reduced sugar levels in most drinks without raising prices – to excessively salty food, incentivising the food industry to use less salt and raising money from the food industry to support the economy. And when we say that any action will help - just a 1g/day fall in salt intake could prevent more than 4,000 deaths, and save £1.5 billion in costs each year. Why would the Government not prioritise this?

Read our report for more information on the benefits to the health of the population and the environment, our workforce, the NHS and the economy: Benefits of Salt Reduction_Salt Awareness Week 2023 Report [PDF 642KB]