SA Health Minister John Hill has announced moves to require all major fast food retailers in South Australia to display kilojoule information on their menu boards, websites, leaflets and menus. The new regulations (under the Food Act 2001) would require food chains with 20 or more stores in SA, or 50 or more stores nationally, to state the kilojoule content of each item clearly and legibly alongside the price of the product, as well as prominently featuring the average adult daily energy intake of... ...Read more »

A report by Sydney based The George Institute for Global Health, released yesterday, says that despite the government’s Food and Health Dialogue, salt levels in Australian bread products have not changed since 2007. Bread has recently become a target for sodium reduction, with one fifth of daily salt intake for Australians coming through bread, and daily salt intake between five and 10 times that required for good health. The report comes just two days after the Australian Food and Grocery... ...Read more »

Queensland Deputy Premier and Minister for Health Paul Lucas tabled an agenda paper at a Ministerial Meeting in Adelaide on Friday, calling for a nationally consistent plan for reducing intakes of energy, saturated fat, sugar and salt from fast food. Lucas said it was time to get serious about developing a national approach to the issue. “In 2009, 1.6 billion meals were served by fast food outlets in Australia. Alarmingly, that means 4.5 million Australians visited a fast food outlet every day,”... ...Read more »

New South Wales Premier Kristina Kenneally yesterday announced that menus for fast-food outlets across NSW will be required to display kilojoule information on their printed and menu boards, as of February 1st 2011. Businesses such as major fast food, bakery, coffee and doughnut chains will now be required to ‘clearly and legibly’ display the kilojoule content on their menu board, as well as prominently featuring the average adult daily energy intake of 8700 kilojoules. The kilojoule... ...Read more »

Consumer group CHOICE says Australians are consuming far more salt than they are aware of, with sodium levels in food clocking in at alarming levels, and often difficult to detect by taste alone – with a McDonald’s large chocolate thickshake containing the same level of salt as a large fries, and a single roll of Wonka Fruit Tingles containing nearly a quarter of sodium recommended daily intake. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) suggest no more than 1600mg of sodium... ...Read more »

Givaudan has developed a unique sensory language called Sense ItTM Salt which enables a more accurate description of the complex taste effects of salt in foods. Sense ItTM Salt will enhance Givaudan’s ability to create flavours that restore the taste aspects of salt and drive consumer preference in low sodium applications.”It is now well understood in the food industry that salt is a very efficient and complex taste enhancer that goes beyond just making food taste salty. Salt has a range... ...Read more »

New Zesty Addition Cuts the Salt, Keeps the KickCampbell Soup Company is bringing on the heat to low-sodium foods with the introduction of V8Spicy Hot Low Sodium100% vegetable juice. With 140 milligrams of sodium in each 8-ounce glass, this deliciously-zesty juice delivers bold taste with less salt while still serving up two full servings of vegetables (1 cup) and 50 calories. In fact, V8Spicy Hot Low Sodiumjuice displays the American Heart Association heart-check mark and meets the U.S. government... ...Read more »

Kraft Foods announced plans to significantly increase the whole grain content in its leading Nabisco cracker brands, more than doubling the amount of whole grain currently used across the Nabisco portfolio. Over the next three years, some of America’s favorite cracker brands, including Wheat Thins, Honey Maid, Premium and Ritz will include more whole grain. By 2013, the company expects Nabisco crackers will contribute more than 9 billion servings of whole grain to American diets each year.”Nine... ...Read more »

PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America business unit has launched two Lightly Salted varieties of chips for the US market. Fritos Lightly Salted corn chips and Ruffles Lightly Salted potato chips join Lay’s Lightly Salted potato chips, containing around 50% less sodium per one ounce serving than their original counterparts, the firm said yesterday. “The number one request from consumers is for lower sodium versions of snacks,” said Ann Mukherjee, chief marketing officer, Frito-Lay... ...Read more »

A US researcher has linked a preference for salty foods to a heightened sense of taste, in a study at the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. The study asked 87 participants to rate the taste intensity of a variety of salty foods over several weeks. The subjects with a heightened sense of taste – known as ‘supertasters’ – were found to consume more salt than most people, and to experience salty tastes more strongly. Lead researcher John Hayes said that salt is an... ...Read more »