rubbing salt on the wound

Our previous post highlighted an industry that makes money from a product that is directly linked to causing early death. Yet this report demonstrates that other capitalists equally place profits over the health of their customers .

US government health experts estimate that cuts in salt consumption could save 150,000 lives a year in America. Since processed foods account for most of the salt in the American diet , national health officials, Mayor Bloomberg of New York and Michelle Obama urging food companies to greatly reduce their use of salt. Last month, the Institute of Medicine went further, urging the government to force companies to do so.

But the industry is working overtly and behind the scenes to fend off these attacks, using a shifting set of tactics that have defeated similar efforts for 30 years, records and interviews show. Industry insiders call the strategy “delay and divert” and say companies have a powerful incentive to fight back: they crave salt as a low-cost way to create tastes and textures. Doing without it risks losing customers, and replacing it with more expensive ingredients risks losing profits.

When health advocates first petitioned the federal government to regulate salt in 1978, food companies sponsored research aimed at casting doubt on the link between salt and hypertension. Two decades later, when federal officials tried to cut the salt in products labeled “healthy,” companies argued that foods already low in sugar and fat would not sell with less salt.

SOYMB is well aware that market forces always value profits above human welfare. Whatever remedial measures are taken are usually too little and too late.