A Personal View – March 2014

The world & in particular the West has a raging health epidemic. Like a wild fire driven ever onwards by a gusting wind, it appears to be unstoppable, ineluctable.

But is it?

In their first prong of the offensive, the Government & WHO have set their sights clearly on two miscreants: salt & sugar.

This is probably as excellent a place to commence as any but will it have the impact on this plague that they anticipate.

Let us take the case of salt in South Africa. The Minister of Heath, Aaron Motsoaledi, has begun a campaign which initially requests that all manufacturers of processed foods reduce the quantity of salt used in their products.

The conundrum for the Producers is that it has been conclusively proved that Consumers prefer foods with a higher salt content as they perceive them as being tastier.

The unintended consequences of this pressure will be that the foods with the lowest salt content will not be sold & if consumers are forced to purchase them, they will simply add additional salt thereby defeating the Minister’s objective.

I have personal experience in this regard as in a previous company I watched the shop floor workers adding a layer of salt to their meat. Will these people easily be persuaded by Motsoaledi’s reasoned appeal even if they are exposed to it?

I fear not.

Whether or not the measure is heard is neither here nor there. The important fact is that salt is what determines  taste & instead of a bland meal, a dollop of salt will be added.

The campaign to reduce our sugar intake has not yet reached South Africa but the World Health Organisation [WHO] has set the limit at 26g per day.

This may sound like a lot but in reality it is skimpy. All processed foods have sugar added to enhance the taste. In the case of tomato sauce it is 4g per table spoon & in a pizza 26g. All processed foods have oodles of sugar added. The food labels highlight this practice with most items – even items such as yoghurt & milk – indicating that additional sugar was indeed added. Trying to find a product even in Woolworths where sugar has not been added is a fool’s errand.

WHO proposes that food labelling be amended to explicitly note the quantity of additional sugar added in order to alert the consumer to this practice. With a muffin containing 22g of sugar, how easy will it be for the average consumer to adhere to these limits.

None, I presume. Again it the consumer themselves who are the culprit. They do not want to consume insipid foods so they will boycott them. Likewise if legislation forces a reduction below an acceptable limit, they will simply sprinkle additional sugar on the product.

While I concur with the WHO’s recommendation, compliance through legislation, while desirable, will not change behaviour sufficiently.

Like the payment of e-tolls & the adherence to traffic regulations, only the naturally law abiding will automatically comply.

In general, I expect compliance rates for reduced salt & sugar consumption to be low. So low in fact, that it will negate the government’s best intentions & endeavours.