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are the food industry, local food producers, nutrition and health
scientists, consumer groups, healthcare professionals and local
authorities.
According to the UK Food Standards Agency, high-visibility
campaigns on salt have increased consumer awareness. However,
in the USA only 42% of Americans are concerned with their
sodium intake, while four in 10 Americans continue to believe
that low-sodium products do not taste as good.
Sayed said that the aim of the workshop was to gain insights
into consumer perspectives on salt, salt usage and barriers to
reducing salt intake. ‘We also wanted to brainstorm and create
ideas for new approaches to promote salt-intake reduction
based on consumer insights, and establish collaborations to help
consumers. The work has just begun. The collaborative group
now has to work together to introduce a salt-awareness campaign
for all South African consumers.’
Salt facts
•
Right up to the 20th century, pound bars of salt (called
amoleh) were the basic currency in Abyssinia (now Ethiopia).
•
The amazing Salar de Uyuni (the world’s largest salt flat at 4
000
square miles) in Bolivia becomes mirror like when a thin
layer of water lies on top. This reflectivity makes it a very
useful tool in calibration of scientific equipment from outer
space. This amazing salt flat also contains half of the world’s
supply of lithium.
•
Salt is so essential to the body that if you drink too much
water it can flush it out of your system and cause fatal
hyponatraemia.
•
Consumption of too much salt can also be deadly – you need
to take about 1 g of salt per kg of weight to die and this was
used as a method of ritual suicide in China – especially among
the nobility, as salt was so expensive.
•
Good-quality sea salt contains many essential minerals for the
body. The best type of sea salt should be slightly wet from the
sea it was taken from.
•
In the Middle Ages, salt was so expensive it was sometimes
referred to as ‘white gold’. The medieval pavement of one
of the transportation routes for salt still exists in Germany
where it links the inland city of Lüneburg to the German
Baltic coast.
•
Black salt is made in India by mixing salt water with harad
seeds. The mixture is left to evaporate leaving behind black
lumps of salt. When the salt is ground, the resulting powder
is pink
•
In Guerande, France, salt is still gathered in the same way as
it was by the ancient Celts, using baskets through which the
sea water is strained. This salt is sprinkled on food prior to
serving – it is never used in cooking.
•
There is a very common misconception that Roman soldiers
were paid in salt (hence the word salary), but in fact they were
paid in normal money. The connection with salt is possibly
through the fact that the soldiers protected the salt roads lead-
ing to Rome (Via Salarium).
•
Before biblical Judaism ceased to exist, salt was mixed with
animal sacrifices. This originated from Moses in Leviticus
2:13
which states: ‘Whatsoever sacrifice thou offerest, thou
shalt season it with salt, neither shalt thou take away the salt
of the covenant of thy God from thy sacrifice. In all thy obla-
tions thou shalt offer salt.’ The salt was a symbol of wisdom
and discretion.
•
After aviation fuel is purified, salt is mixed with it to remove
all traces of water before it can be used.
•
Sodium chloride (salt) is formed when the unstable metal
sodium reacts with chlorine gas. It is the only family of rocks
regularly eaten by humans.
•
In the early 1800s salt was four times as expensive as beef on
the frontier – it was essential in keeping people and livestock
alive.
•
Only 6% of the salt used in the United States is used in food;
another 17% is used for de-icing streets and highways in the
winter months.
•
In the late 17th century, salt was the leading cargo carried
from the Caribbean to North America. It was used to feed
slaves on sugar plantations.
