Consumer Choice?

Yet another report indicating that, for health reasons, Canadians really, really need to reduce their salt intake.

The news report I read invested most of its coverage to suggesting that we salt consumers need to be more aware in our eating, of the amounts of salt we are eating; and more importantly we need to cut back.

To me, this argument seems similar to the idea that all we consumers need to cut back on the amount of packaging used in the products we purchase.

Say what????

There was a time in this fair land, when one-income families existed, and when there was a stay-at-home spouse (read, mother) who perhaps cooked virtually every meal from scratch.  She could control the salt intake.

Walk into any supermarket today and the shelf after shelf of pre-prepared foods attests to the fact that those earlier times are long past.  My sense is that most families today eat much of their food out of the boxes, cans, frozen packages (remember packaging?) one finds in the supermarket.

Salt aside, I have some special dietary issues that cause me to have to seek alternatives to most of the pre-packaged foods today.  Trust me, if one is seeking ingredients different than those prescribed by the manufacturers, it is no easy task.

So, if we assume that families today do not have the time, finances or other resources to invest seeking scarce alternatives, one is left with the choices made by manufacturers and retailers -- in terms not only of ingredients, but also such matters as packaging and even source (read, New Zealand apples in Canada).

And when I read the nutritional labels, I find, for example:

• Canned Soup - serving 125ml - 480mg of salt
• BBQ Sauce - serving 30ml - 370mg of salt
• Gluten-free bread - one slice - 280mg of salt
• Whole-grain bread - once slice - 115mg of salt
• Frozen, skinless chicken breast - 650mg of salt
• Canned beans - serving 125ml - 410mg of salt
• Canned tomatoes - serving 125ml - 370mg of salt
• Chocolate chip cookies (2) - serving 30g - 70mg of salt

and so it goes.

I don't think most of the above are the worst offenders.  I shudder to think what might be in pre-prepared frozen dishes with wonderful sounding names.  But we do not have any of these on our shelves.

Strikes me, that the target for reduced salt and reduced packaging, and local purchasing, and other "consumer" initiatives, ought to better be the product producers, manufacturers and retailers.  It is unclear to me that we consumers have much control, although I have often thought, after purchasing a highly-packaged product of one sort or another -- about unpacking it in the store and leaving the packaging in the isle after my purchase.