Past recommendations made about daily salt intake

The Department of Health's Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA) was disbanded in March 2000.

The following information was taken on July 11th 2006 from
http://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/recommendations.htm

Recommendations made about salt

COMA

1 Nutritional Aspects of Cardiovascular Disease 1994
This COMA report considered the evidence for a causal relationship between the consumption of sodium and both the level of blood pressure and the rise in blood pressure with age. A statement in the report said it recommended:
"A reduction in the average intake of common salt (sodium chloride) by the adult population from the current level of about 9g/day to about 6g/day.
There needs to be a gradual reduction in the amount of sodium from salt added to processed food and food manufacturers, caterers, and individuals should explore and grasp the opportunity for reducing the sodium content of foods and meals."
The Chief Medical Officer at that time, accepted all the recommendations in this COMA report except for the recommendation to reduce salt. The reason for this is not clear but is believed to be pressure from industry.
Department of Health (1994), "Nutritional Aspects of Cardiovascular Disease", HMSO, London.

(Note by Willow: - The Chief Medical Officer at that time appears to have been Kenneth Calman. - I wonder why he gave greater consideration to the desires of industry than to the health of the nation, and I wonder how many deaths and how much terrible suffering he was, therefore, personally responsible for? In 1996 he became a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. I myself would not have awarded him an honour like this, in view of his failure to accept that recommendation about salt. - Would you? - I consider the failure at that time to put pressure on food manufacturers and caterers to reduce the sodium content of foods and meals to be a dereliction of his duty in that job.)

2 Dietary Reference Values 1991
This COMA report considered that:
"Current sodium intakes are needlessly high and we caution against any trend towards increased intakes".
It set its recommended intake for salt, as with all the other recommended intakes for nutrients, on the basis of the balance of risks and benefits, which might practically be expected to occur. The RNI for a particular population group is defined as the amount of the nutrient that is enough or more than enough for about 97% of the people in this group.
The Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI) for sodium for adults was set at 1600 mg/day. This is equivalent to approximately 4g of salt, if all the sodium was present in the diet as sodium chloride. This is considerably less than the present intake of 9-12g.
Department of Health (1991), "Dietary Reference values for food, energy and nutrients for the United Kingdom", HMSO, London.

Comment from Willow:

The official/s who KNEW all those years ago that high intake of salt causes many serious and disabling illnesses and early deaths, and had the power all those years ago to take measures to ensure lower levels of salt in processed foods and to get information about sodium/salt levels in food onto the packaging of food, and to inform the general population about the harm high salt intake was causing to many people, and decided to do none of this - were they fit to hold their high office? - And was there no-one in the vast Department of Health or in Parliament who took an interest in these matters or checked on whether the public was being well served by its highly paid officials? - What use are professional qualifications when such indefensible decisions are made?