Salt Awareness Week 2021: More Flavor, Less Salt!

This year, the World Salt Awareness Week will take place from March 8 to 14 with the slogan: “More Flavor, Less Salt!”. The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) joins this global campaign to join forces with the international community and share the progress made by the Region. In turn, technical tools will be shared to facilitate the development and implementation of comprehensive salt reduction policies and dissemination of key messages to promote healthy practices at home, in school and at the workplace.

Salt Awareness and COVID-19

The COVID-19 global pandemic has changed people’s lives in many ways, including the way we eat. Restrictions put in place to help slow the spread of the virus has meant that rather than socializing and eating in restaurants, cafes and/or outdoor markets, we are now spending more time at home. The time spent at home has led to an increase in home cooking. This has turned into an opportunity to make our favorites dishes or even get creative in the kitchen with new recipes and flavors. Given the lifestyle changes brought into place by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to decrease the consumption of salt when preparing our home-made meals. For instance, if a person uses a big pinch of salt to cook a favorite meal, this could easily lead to a daily increase in intake of salt. This is damaging our health and, in the future, can put us at risk for developing a noncommunicable disease.

During Salt Awareness Week, PAHO wants to encourage people and families in the Region to use less salt and replace it with herbs such as citrus, basil, oregano, cilantro, parsley, paprika, garlic, black pepper, cumin, and spices. It is crucial to cut the use of sauces such as soy sauce, ketchup and salad dressings which can contain lots of hidden salt. And finally, using lower salt-stocks or making your own from chicken bones could be a good idea to lower salt in our recipes.

The reduction of salt/sodium consumption is one of the most cost-effective interventions to prevent hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.

BEST BUYS TO ACHIEVE SALT REDUCTION

PAHO/WHO joins the global community effort sharing technical tools to develop and implement comprehensive policies for salt reduction and key messages to promote healthy practices at home, schools and workplaces.

The reduction of salt/sodium consumption is one of the most cost-effective interventions to prevent hypertension and CVDs. The WHO´s Best Buys to achieve it include:

1. The reformulation of food products to contain less salt/sodium and the setting of target levels for salt/sodium content in foods and meals.

2. The establishment of a supportive environment in public institutions such as hospitals, schools, workplaces, and nursing homes, to enable lower sodium options to be provided.

3. Behavior change communication and mass media campaigns to raise awareness on salt consumption reduction.

4. The implementation of front-of-pack labeling to provide easy to read and easy-to-understand information for consumers.

5. Monitoring of salt/sodium population intake, knowledge, attitudes and behavior, and salt/sodium content of the food supply

Salt Free Recipe: Healthy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

- 5 tomatoes (tomatoes should be red, also firm, but not hard)

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1/2 medium onion, minced

- ¼ teaspoon fresh pepper

- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

- 1 ½ tablespoons paprika powder or smoked paprika powder

- Basil leaves, to taste

- 1 or 2 bay leaves

- ½ lemon, squeezed

Let's cook together! Watch video to follow step-by-step.

WEBINAR

As part of the activities prepared to mark Salt Awareness Week, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is organizing the webinar: "Advances in the Region about Strategies for the Reduction of Salt Consumption", to be held on Thursday, 11 March 2021, to showcase the advances in the Region of the Americas in salt reduction and the tools made available by PAHO on the topic.

DATE: Thursday, 11 March, 2021
TIME 10:30 am- 12:00 pm (EST)
REGISTER: https://paho-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9OjKnQpST-uh7AQner3pyQ
LANGUAGE: The session will have simultaneous translation in English and Spanish.

MORE INFORMATION

Featured Publications

LEARN MORE

The SHAKE package outlines the policies and interventions which have been effective in reducing population salt intake, provides evidence of the efficacy of the recommended interventions, and includes a toolkit containing resources to assist Members States to implement the interventions

Mapping tool of Salt/Sodium Intake Reduction Policies

This interactive tool allows you to explore data and information regarding the existing national policies and initiatives addressing dietary salt/sodium intake reduction in the population, monitor the implementation of cost-effective "Best Buys" interventions, and adoption of legislation and policies for the reduction of salt/sodium intake at the population level, and provide information on policy gaps to prioritize actions.