1000+ Kraft Products Lose 10% Salt by 2012: Competitors Follow

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Kraft to Reduce Salt by 10% in 1,000+ Products by 2012

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By 2012, Kraft Foods Inc. plans to reduce the amount of salt in its North American products by 10% in an effort to help consumers make healthier choices, the company said Wednesday.

Health experts have urged companies such as Kraft—the largest U.S. food maker—to lower the amount of sodium in their products, saying Americans eat too much salt.

Kraft Brands Affected by Lower Sodium

Over the next 2 years, Kraft plans to remove more than 10 million pounds of salt from more than 1,000 products. They have set goals to reduce sodium by 10% in Velveeta cheese, 17% in Oscar Mayer Balogna and 20% in Easy Mac Cups.

Kraft Foods owns more than 100 brands, including:

• Cool Whip
• Fig Newtons
• Jell-O
• Kool-Aid
• Oreo
• Shake ‘n Bake
• Tang

Kraft's History of Sodium Reduction

Kraft already has more than 100 sodium-free or low sodium products, but some foods are still in need of reductions. A single-serving Easy Mac Cup contains 700 milligrams of sodium, which is roughly 30% of the recommended average daily intake.

In 2008, Kraft started steadily reducing salt in turkey deli meats, salad dressings and the Wheat Thins crackers.

Health Study Suggests 3gs Less Salt Daily

The issue with cutting salt significantly is that consumers may notice and be turned off the product, despite the positive effect of lowering salt intake.

A health study from February reported that new cases of stroke, heart attack and coronary heart disease would decrease significantly if Americans lowered their daily salt intake by 3 grams:

• Stroke would decrease by 32,000 to 66,000 new cases
• Heart Attack would decrease by 54,000 to 99,000 new cases
• Coronary Heart Disease would decrease by 60,000 to 120,000 new cases

Other companies including ConAgra Foods Inc., Sara Lee and Campbell Soup Co. have felt the same pressure from health officials and have made similar changes to their products. ConAgra plans to decrease its sodium by 20% while Campbell’s cut the amount of sodium in some of it’s soups by 50%.