According to a report from Nation’s Restaurant News, “Americans are paying more attention to sodium levels in food, and in response food manufacturers are developing more no-salt or reduced-sodium products, the consumer research firm Mintel said Tuesday.”
“Recent research indicates that about 52 percent of American consumers are monitoring the amount of sodium in their diets, according to Chicago-based Mintel.Meanwhile, the number of food products designed to have no-, low- or reduced-sodium levels, has increased 115 percent from 2005 to 2008, according to Mintel’s Global New Products Database.The shift is fueled in part by health activists who in recent years have been pushing for the reduction of sodium levels in restaurant fare. Last month, the consumer-advocacy group the Center for Science in the Public Interest filed a class-action lawsuit against Denny’s Corp. accusing the family-dining chain of perpetrating fraud for not disclosing the amount of salt in menu items.Mintel said such cases are raising consumer awareness about the impact sodium in the diet can have on health,” the story said.
