The quiet reduction of salt levels in the UK and Norway improves public health

Reports have shown that there is a causal relationship between salt intake and both the level of blood pressure and the rise in blood pressure with age. Therefore, it can help save lives in the long-term when food manufacturers such as Lantmännen Unibake reduce the salt content in their bread products. 

In the UK, salt intake has been on the public agenda since the beginning of the 1990’s. Four times, the public health authorities have demanded a reduction in salt levels for products sold in retail – in 2010, in 2012, in 2017, and again in 2024. 

“What the government in the UK has realized is that when you reduce salt in the diet, your taste buds adjust to that. If you try to make big changes in salt levels, people will notice it. The food you are used to eating, suddenly taste differently,” says Clare Thomas, Head of New Product Development at Lantmännen Unibake UK. 

“But if you make lots of small reductions over a prolonged period, people don't notice the difference. So, the public strategy in the UK for reducing salt levels is to start off with some targets, work together with the retailers and with us in the industry to get everyone motivated to find ways to achieve those targets. A few years later, they reduce them a bit further. As a result, over time salt levels come down.” 

Clare Thomas adds that when colleagues in sister companies in the Lantmännen Unibake group taste their products, they often think they lack salt. And the other way around: When she visits colleagues in other countries where salt levels have not come down, she notices the difference, and it is a reminder of where they used to be. 

Whilst the salt reduction regulations are not compulsory from a legal perspective, because the major retailers have bought into the program, the effect is that they have been widely adopted across the industry. 

Norway leads the way 

In Norway, the health authorities are working with a similar agenda to reduce salt levels in processed food.  

“In 2020, Lantmännen Unibake bought a big bakery and insourced the bread production to a bakery in Norway. In that process we went through the product portfolio and decided to reduce salt levels,” says Fredrik Gruffman, Market Concept Manager at Lantmännen Unibake Norway.

“For the food service market, we produce 35 bread products. Of those 35 products, 83% contain 1,1 gram of salt or less. For the retail market, we make 16 bread products, and of those, 75% contain 1 gram of salt or less. In 2024, we will furthermore reduce salt levels by 10% in two of our products, which adds up to 1,1 tons of salt.”  

When Lantmännen Unibake Norway talks to their customers about reducing salt levels, the customers applaud Unibake’s efforts to improve public health. And they are asking for further initiatives.

“When we reduce salt levels in our recipes, it is not something we want to be loud about. If consumers can see that we take out salt from our products, they will probably associate it with less tasty products. And we obviously don’t want that. Reducing salt levels across the food system needs to be a silent revolution to be effective,” says Fredrik Gruffman.

Next up for Lantmännen Unibake Norway is to work more on removing food additives in the bakery products such as food coloring, flavors, and preservatives.

“Compared to other countries, our bread portfolio in Norway is already high on fibre and wholegrains and low on fat and sugar. Right now, we are focusing on salt, butso I think the next big thing for us will be to provide as clean products as possible to consumers,” he ends. 

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