26 March 2013| last updated at 12:08AM
Malaysians take too much salt
By A. AZIM IDRIS | [email protected]
UNHEALTHY: Their regular average intake is 7.8g per day, above WHO's recommendation of 5g
PUTRAJAYA: MALAYSIANS consume almost twice the maximum amount of salt recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), a recent study has found.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the pilot study, conducted by the ministry between December 2011 and February last year, showed the regular Malaysian's average salt intake was 7.8g per day.
The number was 1.7-folds higher than the organisation's recommendation of 5g per day. The study also found that men consume more salt than women.
He said data from the National Health and Morbidity Survey in 2011 showed that about 32.7 per cent of Malaysians, aged 18 years and above had high blood pressure, indicating that there were about 5.8 million people at risk of adult cardiovascular disease.
"The most cost-effective measure to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCD) is through promotion and prevention," he said after officiating the "Less salt, please" seminar in conjunction with the World Salt Awareness Campaign 2013 here yesterday.
Noor Hisham said soya sauce, as well as oyster sauce, chilli and tomato sauces, had been identified as condiments with very high sodium content that was popular among Malaysians. He said dishes with excessive amounts of salt include fried rice, nasi lemak, fried noodles, noodle soup and roti canai.
The study also found that fish and prawn crackers, fried fish with soya sauce, fried chicken, dried anchovy, sweet sour, sambal and curry fish, beef and lamb curries and fish or shrimp balls, had high sodium content.
Among other food items containing high amounts of salt include bean paste, chicken stock cubes, vegetables, mayonnaise, canned and preserved foods such as salted eggs, salted fish, preserved fruit and shrimp paste.
Dr Noor Hisham said excessive salt intake could cause hypertension (high blood pressure). This can worsen if an individual was prone to excessive alcohol consumption; led a sedentary lifestyle; was obese and had a habit of not eating vegetables.
He said the ministry was also working with the food industry to reduce salt content in food products such as biscuits, noodles, snacks and frozen meat.
"It can be done by educating the public, community and food producers to minimise the use of salt in either food or manufactured products."
Dr Noor Hisham said so far, only six food manufacturers, registered with the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM), had agreed to reduce salt in their products by two to 40 per cent.
He said the ministry would continue to engage those in the food industry such as caterers, food entrepreneurs, restaurant and cafeteria operators, franchises, chefs and cooks.
"We will show them how to control the use of salt in food preparations by replacing salt with other natural flavours that are still as tasty and reduce the usage of salt during cooking and at the dinner table."
