Kraft on track to reach sodium goal

Kraft Foods announced this week that it is on track to cut 10 per cent of the sodium in its North American products by the end of 2012.

Kraft’s sodium-reduction program, launched in 2010, has seen changes to more than 1,000 SKUs across 24 product categories. Popular products like Kraft Grated Parmesan Cheese and Oscar Mayer Bacon were on the chopping blocking, each taking a 10 per cent cut in salt content.

Some products saw even greater reductions in sodium: Kraft Easy Mac Cups now have 30 per cent less salt, while sodium levels in the company’s Kraft Original BBQ Sauce dropped 40 per cent.

Many food companies, including Kraft, have come under fire the last several years over their products’ high sodium levels. According to Health Canada, Canadians eat about 3,400 mg of sodium each day, more than double the amount needed and over 1,000 mg more than the maximum amount that should be consumed.

Over 75 per cent of Canadians' salt intake comes from processed foods, the agency writes in its “Guidance” letter to the food industry. It's working toward a goal of reducing the daily average sodium intake to 2,300 mg per day by 2016. To that end, the government “encourages” companies to voluntarily cut back the amount of salt in their products.

Kraft is reducing sodium because, as Rhonda Jordan, president of Kraft Health & Wellness says, “it’s good for consumers, and, if done properly, it’s good for business. A growing number of consumers are concerned about their sodium intake and we want to help them translate their intentions into actions.”

Kraft adds that the ingredient changes won’t affect the taste, quality or safety of its products.