Thread: Kraft to cut salt in its foods

Stu wrote:
> PORTLAND, Ore. — Kraft Foods Inc. said today that it will cut the salt
> in its products that are sold in North America by an average of 10
> percent over the next two years to appeal to health-conscious
> consumers.
>
> The changes at Kraft, the largest U.S. food maker, will affect more
> than 1,000 products...
>
snip....
> Among other companies aiming to cut sodium is ConAgra Foods Inc., the
> maker of Chef Boyardee and Hebrew National. ConAgra announced in
> October that it would will cut sodium 20 percent in the next five
> years.
>
> Campbell Soup Co. has cut the sodium in more than 100 of its products
> — including V8 juices, Prego sauces, Pepperidge Farm breads and some
> of its namesake soups — by 25 percent to 50 percent over the past four
> years. Campbell announced in December that it would cut the sodium in
> its SpaghettiOs canned pasta by up to 35 percent
>
> Associated Press March 17, 2010
>

Stu, I have been reducing my salt intake, so this is wonderful news.
Salt can be added, but you can not remove it. I bought potato chips last
week and they are too salty.


Becca

On Mar 18, 12:49*pm, Becca <be...@hal-pc.org> wrote:
> Stu wrote:
> > PORTLAND, Ore. Kraft Foods Inc. said today that it will cut the salt
> > in its products that are sold in North America by an average of 10
> > percent over the next two years to appeal to health-conscious
> > consumers.
>
> > The changes at Kraft, the largest U.S. food maker, will affect more
> > than 1,000 products...
>
> snip....
> > Among other companies aiming to cut sodium is ConAgra Foods Inc., the
> > maker of Chef Boyardee and Hebrew National. ConAgra announced in
> > October that it would will cut sodium 20 percent in the next five
> > years.
>
> > Campbell Soup Co. has cut the sodium in more than 100 of its products
> > including V8 juices, Prego sauces, Pepperidge Farm breads and some
> > of its namesake soups by 25 percent to 50 percent over the past four
> > years. Campbell announced in December that it would cut the sodium in
> > its SpaghettiOs canned pasta by up to 35 percent
>
> > Associated Press *March 17, 2010
>
> Stu, I have been reducing my salt intake, so this is wonderful news.
> Salt can be added, but you can not remove it. I bought potato chips last
> week and they are too salty.
>
> Becca- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I wonder how much a company can reduce the sodium before the taste of
the item is affected? I'lll bet it's more than we think.

On 2010-03-18, Steve B <[email protected]> wrote:

> Another thing is the serving size. I just bought a jar of large pimento
> stuffed green olives. A serving has 7% of the RDA. Guess what one serving
> is: one olive. It helps to read the label.

You actually need to read the label of pimento olives to know they are
very salty?

nb

"ImStillMags" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
On Mar 18, 12:49 pm, Becca <be...@hal-pc.org> wrote:
> Stu wrote:
> > PORTLAND, Ore. Kraft Foods Inc. said today that it will cut the salt
> > in its products that are sold in North America by an average of 10
> > percent over the next two years to appeal to health-conscious
> > consumers.
>
> > The changes at Kraft, the largest U.S. food maker, will affect more
> > than 1,000 products...
>
> snip....
> > Among other companies aiming to cut sodium is ConAgra Foods Inc., the
> > maker of Chef Boyardee and Hebrew National. ConAgra announced in
> > October that it would will cut sodium 20 percent in the next five
> > years.
>
> > Campbell Soup Co. has cut the sodium in more than 100 of its products
> > including V8 juices, Prego sauces, Pepperidge Farm breads and some
> > of its namesake soups by 25 percent to 50 percent over the past four
> > years. Campbell announced in December that it would cut the sodium in
> > its SpaghettiOs canned pasta by up to 35 percent
>
> > Associated Press March 17, 2010
>
> Stu, I have been reducing my salt intake, so this is wonderful news.
> Salt can be added, but you can not remove it. I bought potato chips last
> week and they are too salty.
>
> Becca- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I wonder how much a company can reduce the sodium before the taste of
the item is affected? I'lll bet it's more than we think.

If you read the article, you'll find that many companies have already been
lowering the salt but don't say anything. If they say something, public
opinion says the product must taste bad. If they say nothing, sales go on
as before.
Janet

"Stu" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
>
> PORTLAND, Ore. - Kraft Foods Inc. said today that it will cut the salt
> in its products that are sold in North America by an average of 10
> percent over the next two years to appeal to health-conscious
> consumers.
>
> The changes at Kraft, the largest U.S. food maker, will affect more
> than 1,000 products and eliminate more than 10 million pounds of salt
> each year, the company said.

Being a close follower of this, I applaud their decision. There is way too
much salt in foods today, mainly because of its preservative qualities, and
also because of its addictive nature. It is very difficult to get away from
any prepared food with salt in it.

Another thing is the serving size. I just bought a jar of large pimento
stuffed green olives. A serving has 7% of the RDA. Guess what one serving
is: one olive. It helps to read the label.

Salt is a killer.

Steve

Mark Thorson wrote:
>
> Every time I buy olives, I run several changes
> of water through the can over a period of maybe
> an hour to lower the salt content.


Why are you buying them in cans? I never used to like olives, but that
was back int he days when they were available only in cans and bottles.
I always by olives from an olive bar. They are so much better than
canned olives that they are not even the same product.

ImStillMags wrote:
>
> I wonder how much a company can reduce the sodium before the taste of
> the item is affected? I'lll bet it's more than we think.

It might become a food safety issue if they
cut too much. Processed foods must have
a very long shelf life, and salt helps
with that.

notbob wrote:
>
> On 2010-03-18, Steve B <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Another thing is the serving size. I just bought a jar of large pimento
> > stuffed green olives. A serving has 7% of the RDA. Guess what one serving
> > is: one olive. It helps to read the label.
>
> You actually need to read the label of pimento olives to know they are
> very salty?

Every time I buy olives, I run several changes
of water through the can over a period of maybe
an hour to lower the salt content.

On Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:49:33 -0700 (PDT) in rec.food.cooking,
ImStillMags <[email protected]> wrote,
>
>I wonder how much a company can reduce the sodium before the taste of
>the item is affected? I'lll bet it's more than we think.

The taste of most Kraft products would be IMPROVED by less salt, so
that's not the problem. I can't figure what salt does for them that
makes it so difficult for them to get rid of. I guess they rely on it
as a preservative.

On Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:03:15 -0700, David Harmon <[email protected]>
wrote:

> On Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:49:33 -0700 (PDT) in rec.food.cooking,
> ImStillMags <[email protected]> wrote,
> >
> >I wonder how much a company can reduce the sodium before the taste of
> >the item is affected? I'lll bet it's more than we think.
>
> The taste of most Kraft products would be IMPROVED by less salt, so
> that's not the problem. I can't figure what salt does for them that
> makes it so difficult for them to get rid of. I guess they rely on it
> as a preservative.
>
It's cheap and they can skimp on real flavorings if they overdo salt.

--
http://picasaweb.google.com/sf.usenet

Mark Thorson wrote:
> ImStillMags wrote:
>
>> I wonder how much a company can reduce the sodium before the taste of
>> the item is affected? I'lll bet it's more than we think.
>>
>
> It might become a food safety issue if they
> cut too much. Processed foods must have
> a very long shelf life, and salt helps
> with that.

My oldest son worked on finding a preservative for large bags of Frito's
so they would keep fresh longer. The small bags have corn, oil and salt
as ingredients, there are no added preservatives, other than the salt.
The large bags have the same ingredients, but they are not single-use
servings, so people keep them longer. I will have to ask what they did,
if anything.


Becca

On Mar 18, 1:45*pm, Stu <i...@foodforu.ca> wrote:
> PORTLAND, Ore. — Kraft Foods Inc. said today that it will cut the salt
> in its products that are sold in North America by an average of 10
> percent over the next two years to appeal to health-conscious
> consumers.
>
> The changes at Kraft, the largest U.S. food maker, will affect more
> than 1,000 products and eliminate more than 10 million pounds of salt
> each year, the company said.
>
> Kraft and other food makers have cut their use of sodium in recent
> years. Among other cuts, the company said this latest move will cut
> the salt in Oscar Mayer Bologna by 17 percent, Easy Mac Cups by 20
> percent and Velveeta by 10 percent.
>
> "We are reducing sodium because it's good for consumers and, if done
> properly, it's good for business," Rhonda Jordan, president of health
> & wellness at Kraft Foods, said in a statement. "A growing number of
> consumers are concerned about their sodium intake, and we want to help
> them translate their intentions into actions."
>
> Health experts generally agree Americans eat too much salt and the
> vast majority of it comes from processed food. The excess is dangerous
> because salt contributes to high blood pressure, which can lead to
> stroke, kidney disease, heart disease or heart failure.
>
> Many health leaders have urged food makers to reformulate their
> products to reduce salt.
>
> Dietary guidelines generally limit healthy adults to about a teaspoon,
> or 2,300 milligrams of sodium, a day. People who are most sensitive to
> salt — African Americans, people with high blood pressure and others —
> should limit their daily intake to 1500 milligrams, according to the
> Food and Drug Administration.
>
> Kraft, which is based in Northfield, Ill., offers more than 100
> products with no sodium or what it calls low or reduced levels. But a
> 2.05-ounce, single-serving Easy Mac Cup, for example, has 700
> milligrams of sodium — about 30 percent of the recommended average
> daily intake.
>
> Kraft said it also is reformulating some items for international
> markets, including cheese products in the UK. But the bulk of the
> company's business is in North America.
>
> Among other companies aiming to cut sodium is ConAgra Foods Inc., the
> maker of Chef Boyardee and Hebrew National. ConAgra announced in
> October that it would will cut sodium 20 percent in the next five
> years.
>
> Campbell Soup Co. has cut the sodium in more than 100 of its products
> — including V8 juices, Prego sauces, Pepperidge Farm breads and some
> of its namesake soups — by 25 percent to 50 percent over the past four
> years. Campbell announced in December that it would cut the sodium in
> its SpaghettiOs canned pasta by up to 35 percent
>
> Associated Press *March 17, 2010

Personally I''d rather have the salt. They always say you can't tell
the difference but I always can.

Dave Smith wrote:
>
> Mark Thorson wrote:
> >
> > Every time I buy olives, I run several changes
> > of water through the can over a period of maybe
> > an hour to lower the salt content.
>
> Why are you buying them in cans? I never used to like olives, but that
> was back int he days when they were available only in cans and bottles.
> I always by olives from an olive bar. They are so much better than
> canned olives that they are not even the same product.

It's true that the French salt-cured olives I can
buy at Whole Foods are a completely different thing.
And you can learn to recognize the really good ones,
which are more delicate, and only pick out those ones
when buying from their olive bar. They are very
salty, but I'd never soak them.

But the canned are a very convenient component of
salads and wraps. I don't go to Whole Foods every
day, and when I do, I usually don't buy olives.

You didn't like olives until you had them from an
olive bar. I've always liked olives, even from cans.

Mark Thorson wrote:

>
> It's true that the French salt-cured olives I can
> buy at Whole Foods are a completely different thing.
> And you can learn to recognize the really good ones,
> which are more delicate, and only pick out those ones
> when buying from their olive bar. They are very
> salty, but I'd never soak them.
>
> But the canned are a very convenient component of
> salads and wraps. I don't go to Whole Foods every
> day, and when I do, I usually don't buy olives.
>
> You didn't like olives until you had them from an
> olive bar. I've always liked olives, even from cans.


Not exactly. For a long time olives never appealed to me. I probably
never tried one. One day in my mid 20s <?> I had the munchies and tried
one and decided they weren't so bad. Then I discovered that the olives
sold at a local deli were incredible. I got hooked on them and have been
buying and eating them ever since, but I buy them only at olive bars or
in delis. I never buy canned or bottled olives. They are IMO a very poor
substitute.

On Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:24:11 -0500, Becca <[email protected]> wrote:

>Mark Thorson wrote:
>> ImStillMags wrote:
>>
>>> I wonder how much a company can reduce the sodium before the taste of
>>> the item is affected? I'lll bet it's more than we think.
>>>
>>
>> It might become a food safety issue if they
>> cut too much. Processed foods must have
>> a very long shelf life, and salt helps
>> with that.
>
>My oldest son worked on finding a preservative for large bags of Frito's
>so they would keep fresh longer. The small bags have corn, oil and salt
>as ingredients, there are no added preservatives, other than the salt.
>The large bags have the same ingredients, but they are not single-use
>servings, so people keep them longer. I will have to ask what they did,
>if anything.

People who buy chips in larger bags eat larger servings... bet ya
can't eat just one. All prepared foods contain added salt... if you
buy canned/jarred soups/sauces they will probably contain more salt
than if you made your own. But even when you make your own you will
add substantial salt or why bother... soup without salt is pretty
unsatisfying, most folks won't eat it... it's like does anyone
actually eat fat free cheese? blech. It's easy to cut back on salt,
eat more fresh fruit and raw vegetables. I think this salt issue is a
lot of crap, there are always alarmists seeking issues, remember the
butter police, now it's the salt police. Unless your doctor informs
you that you have a condition where cutting back on salt is indicated
you will harm yourself more from worry about salt than if you simply
consume salt sensibly... eating pizza, chips, and tube steak
practically every day is not wise on many levels, not just salt.
Remember, the healthy human body is remarkable at regulating itself,
excess salt is eliminated quickly, provided one engages in moderate
exercise and is sufficiently hydrated with plain water. If you sit at
a pc 8 hours a day while sucking down soda and think a 1 pound bag of
potato chips is your 5-a-Day of fresh produce then sooner rather than
later you will be in trouble. You really cannot overdose on fresh
produce, and there are many ways to dress a salad without briney
dressings.

On Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:04:08 -0700 in rec.food.cooking, sf
<[email protected]> wrote,
>On Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:03:15 -0700, David Harmon <[email protected]>
>wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:49:33 -0700 (PDT) in rec.food.cooking,
>> ImStillMags <[email protected]> wrote,
>> >
>> >I wonder how much a company can reduce the sodium before the taste of
>> >the item is affected? I'lll bet it's more than we think.
>>
>> The taste of most Kraft products would be IMPROVED by less salt, so
>> that's not the problem. I can't figure what salt does for them that
>> makes it so difficult for them to get rid of. I guess they rely on it
>> as a preservative.
>>
>It's cheap and they can skimp on real flavorings if they overdo salt.

{Smacking head} Yeah, I guess that one should have pretty obvious.

In news:rec.food.cooking, Stu <[email protected]> posted on Thu, 18 Mar
2010 12:45:09 -0500 the following:

> "We are reducing sodium because it's good for consumers and, if done
> properly, it's good for business," Rhonda Jordan, president of health
> & wellness at Kraft Foods, said in a statement.

Some people think it's good for you to drink your own urine, too. Is
Kraft going to pee in our food, too? I'd much rather see them leave in
the salt and take out the hydrogenated oils, the MSG, and all the goofy
chemical additives. I've bought plenty of foods that don't contain
strange additives and they tasted better than the mainstream brands.

> Kraft, which is based in Northfield, Ill., offers more than 100
> products with no sodium or what it calls low or reduced levels. But a
> 2.05-ounce, single-serving Easy Mac Cup, for example, has 700
> milligrams of sodium +IBQ- about 30 percent of the recommended average
> daily intake.

I wonder if they're going to start including potassium chloride instead. I
think that'd be worse than just using plain old salt.

Damaeus

In news:rec.food.cooking, "Janet Bostwick" <[email protected]> posted on
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:22:30 -0600 the following:

> I wonder how much a company can reduce the sodium before the taste of
> the item is affected? I'lll bet it's more than we think.
>
> If you read the article, you'll find that many companies have already been
> lowering the salt but don't say anything. If they say something, public
> opinion says the product must taste bad. If they say nothing, sales go on
> as before.

I don't mind them removing salt. I just don't want them to replace salt
with something strange that tastes similar to salt, just to preserve its
flavor. I'd rather get something with no salt at all in it, and no
potassium chloride, either, then add my own when I cook it or heat it up.

Damaeus

In news:rec.food.cooking, Becca <[email protected]> posted on Thu, 18 Mar
2010 19:24:11 -0500 the following:

> My oldest son worked on finding a preservative for large bags of Frito's
> so they would keep fresh longer. The small bags have corn, oil and salt
> as ingredients, there are no added preservatives, other than the salt.
> The large bags have the same ingredients, but they are not single-use
> servings, so people keep them longer. I will have to ask what they did,
> if anything.

My favorite tortilla chips, El Milagro Mexican Kitchen Style chips, have
no salt on them, and they are delicious with or without dip, far better
than any other corn chip, salted or unsalted. They do seem to go stale a
little faster than some other brands of chips, but sometimes I think
that's because of the rather thin plastic bag they come in. But it's
really no problem. The staleness is only because the chips have absorbed
some atmospheric moisture. When I put the chips in the oven for a few
minutes, all the moisture is removed, and they're crispier than they were
when I first bought them.

Damaeus