Campaign: Reduce salt from food launched in Chisinau municipality

Chisinau, 03 September /MOLDPRES/ – The population of Moldova consumes twice as much salt daily than it is recommended, and this can cause more health issues. So as to inform the population about the risks of excessive salt consumption and to determine consumption decrease, the Ministry of Healthcare, Labour and Social Protection (MSMPS) has launched campaign: Reduce salt from food, on Tuesday, 03 September, in Chisinau municipality.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that the population consume 05 grammes of salt or less daily, which is equivalent of a teaspoon of salt. The previous studies have shown that salt consumption in Moldova exceeds twice the recommended norms.

The salt consumption is one of the main risk factors leading to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease and their complications, has said the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Healthcare, Alexandru Voloc, at the press conference dedicated to launching campaign.

Under these terms, Moldova has committed to reduce salt consumption by 30 per cent by 2025, which could, together with other actions, lead to a 25 per cent reduction in   rate of premature deaths caused by non – communicable diseases and first of all cardiovascular ones.

The deputy Director of the Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development (SDC), Viorica Cretu, has said that in some states of ex – Soviet area, many persons have unhealthy eating habits and consume excess salt, which can lead to serious issues of health, which affects work capacity, quality and lifespan.

"People add salt to their already salty foods. It is also customary to produce and consume large quantities of pickles, salted cheese etc. Not everyone knows that salt hides in considerable quantities and in food that we buy and eat every day, but we do not realise how much salt they contain: such as bread and sausages. The most interesting thing is that even sweets, desserts, contain very large amounts of salt,” said Viorica Cretu.

The representative of the WHO Bureau of Moldova, Stela Gheorghita, has said that the population consumes around 330 grammes of bread during a day, which ensures the daily quantity of salt. Thus, only reducing the amount of salt in bread production recipe will allow for a gradual decrease in salt consumption.

As part of this campaign, the authorities intend to carry out more actions to inform and educate the population on reducing salt consumption. Also, MSMPS intends to launch more initiatives regarding the amount of salt used in different foods and it will opt for food producers to reduce salt content in their goods.

According to data of WHO, reducing salt intake lowers the risk of high blood pressure and leads to avoidance of thousands of deaths from stroke, heart disease and kidney disease.