Hospital Caterers Association Response To Call For Salt Reduction In Food
The Hospital Caterers Association (HCA) strongly supports the campaign for salt reduction in food being called for by Government and health professionals and supports many of the views to be expressed at the launch of the 2005 National Salt Awareness Day today (Wednesday 26 January 2005).
There several points that the HCA would like to add:
1. In NHS hospitals where traditional cooking methods are employed, catering managers and their teams have been pro-active for some time in reducing the levels of salt in the preparation of meals in line with the Government’s recommended daily salt consumption levels for adults and children. However, since many hospitals source pre-prepared meals, hospital caterers are dependent upon those suppliers reducing salt in their recipes and production. The HCA is confident that the majority of the food manufacturers supplying the hospital catering sector are adhering to the targets that have been set by Government for an annual 10% reduction of salt in food production until 2010. 2.Patients are usually nutritionally screened on admission to hospital to identify special dietary requirements. However, the HCA is not convinced that, in some cases, this goes far enough to enable other health concerns such as hypertension or cardiovascular conditions to be linked to salt consumption and then carried through to monitoring at ward level. The HCA believes that there needs to be greater nutritional training for both doctors and nursing staff_ and better communication between the dietetic, catering and nursing teams to improve awareness of nutritional issues such as the need for salt reduction. Reducing salt in meals is only of true benefit if patients are encouraged not to then add it to their food when it is served by nursing staff on the wards. 3.It is also important that in order for patients to accept lower salt levels in food in hospital that there is a need for greater acceptance and adoption of a lower salt diet out of hospital. Without an across the board acceptance of lower salt products in society as a whole which includes lower salt usage in cooking in the home, patients encountering a policy of reduced salt meals when they go into hospital will find it less acceptable to the palate it if they are experiencing a ‘yo-yo-ing’ effect with their taste buds. To change this, there is a need for wider public communication of the health benefits of lower salt intake and other actions like better labelling in supermarkets and restaurants etc. 4. Hospital caterers provide a food service to a multi-age group and multi-cultural hospital population. It is essential that health messages about lower salt is understood by all people. The HCA is considering the production of a multi-lingual guidance sheet for hospital caterers to use in conjunction with patients to help communicate the health benefits of lower salt usage and easy ‘common sense’ steps they can take for themselves to reduce the amount of salt they consume.Commenting on the issue of salt and health, Alison McCree, National Chairman of the Hospital Caterers Association says: “Hospital caterers have a considerable role to play in helping patients to acquire a taste for lower salt food whilst they are in hospital, a place where their health and future wellbeing are in focus. This begins with a gradual lowering of salt in prepared meals which is the responsibility of the caterers and food suppliers to a conscious decision by patients themselves not to subsequently add the salt back into their food on serving. Patient communication is key but also essential is close collaboration between the clinical, catering and dietetic teams so that the importance of salt reduction is given greater priority with patients and that they are positively supported in the process of reducing their salt dependency”.