Acta medica Croatica : c̆asopis Hravatske akademije medicinskih znanosti
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Industrial food production and processing is necessarily connected with the use of salt. Salt or sodium chloride is used as a preservative, spice, agent for color maintenance, texture, and to regulate fermentation by stopping the growth of bacteria, yeast and mold. Besides kitchen salt, other types of salt that also contain sodium are used in various technological processes in food preparing industry. ⋯ These actions appeal to food industry to reduce the proportion of salt in their products. Besides lower salt addition during manufacture, food industry can use salt substitutes, in particular potassium chloride (KCl), in combination with additives that can mask the absence of salt, and flavor intensifiers that also enhance the product salinity. However, food industry is still quite resistant to reducing salt in their products for fear from losing profits.
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It is well known that reduction of salt results in lowering blood pressure and cardiovascular incidents. Daily salt is double the recommended daily quantity and mainly comes from processed food. The assessment of daily salt intake for Croatia is 12 g/day (WHO recommendation is <5 g/day). ⋯ This kind of collaboration is based on bilateral interests that can result in positive health effects. One of the most important public health tasks is to educate consumers and to give them choice when buying food. This can be achieved by effective campaigns and social marketing, by ensuring a declaration of salt content on the product, or specially designed signs for food products with low or reduced salt content.