The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has extended its target deadline for individuals to reduce their daily salt intake to 6g per day to 2012 following consultation with the food industry.
It had previously aimed to reduce the average population intake of salt from 10g a day to 6g a day by 2010.
The body today published an update of its voluntary salt reduction programme at a salt reduction seminar in Dublin.
Some 63 companies and trade associations are part of the voluntary programme aimed at reducing salt levels in the Irish diet.
The FSAI said that while the industry had made “significant progress” in reducing salt in processed foods, some companies faced “technical barriers” if further reductions are to be achieved.
“Product issues which would impact on product formulation and the products’ attractiveness for consumer palettes are significant obstacles,” the FSAI said.
It said the national salt target intake of 6g (or one teaspoon) per day has been extended to 2012, as part of an EU-wide programme.
FSAI chief executive Prof Alan Reilly said up to 80 per cent of dietary sodium can come from processed foods with the remainder from discretionary sources (salt added in cooking and at the table) and naturally occurring sodium in foods.
“The figures in relation to the average person's intake of salt are alarming. On average, the Irish adult consumes 9.56 grams of salt per day, which adds up to 3.5 kilograms of salt in one year alone.
“The recommended dietary allowance for salt in adults is 4 grams per day, which would be 1.5 kilos per year per adult.
“We are consuming at least twice as much salt per year than we should be. High levels of salt intake are considered a contributory factor in a number of deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke caused by high blood pressure and hypertension,” he said.
Prof Reilly said that since the introduction of the FSAI voluntary salt reduction programme in 2004, the food industry had made “great progress”.
“But as businesses have had to tighten their belts in the last year, commitment to the programme has waned.
“It is of vital importance that momentum is regained and maintained. We would like to see more food businesses getting involved and recommitting themselves to the salt reduction programme.
“This will require innovation in production processes and new solutions to reduce salt input to products. The food industry must keep consumers' health at the forefront of their continued product development.”
Prof Reilly added: "Consumers play a huge role in reducing their salt intake where they have control in the home. Efforts made by the food industry will mean nothing if the consumer just adds more salt during cooking or at the table.
“The overall aim is that gradually, over time, people will become accustomed to less salt. The national salt target intake of 6g (or one teaspoon) per day has been extended to 2012, as part of an EU wide programme of salt reduction.”
Representative body Food and Drink Industry Ireland (FDII) said major progress had been made on the reduction of salt in foods and that it had agreed a new set of salt-reduction commitments for the coming year.
FDII director Paul Kelly said: “The food industry has delivered on its commitment to reduce salt levels in food and is working towards further reductions.
"Salt is a vital ingredient which plays a key role in the safety, quality and taste of food and its reduction has not been a straightforward process. For this reason, we welcome the FSAI approval of the gradual step-by-step approach being followed by manufacturers."
He said relevant research, aligned with the needs of industry, was important to assist companies in overcoming the technical barriers encountered in reducing salt content.