Every day 26 million adults in the UK eat too much salt.
Eating too much salt is bad for your health. It can raise your blood pressure which triples your chance of heart disease and stroke.
Currently adults in Greater Manchester eat on average 9g of salt a day but we should eat a maximum of 6g, which is about a teaspoon full. The recommended daily limit for children depends up on their age, but is significantly less than adults.
The good news is that it is easy to reduce salt intake – just don’t add it to the food you are eating. By eating fewer processed foods and ready meals and understanding food labels we can reduce our salt intake.
ASK is a Greater Manchester initiative to reduce the amount of salt added to food by customers in restaurants, cafes and other catering establishments.
By working with local eateries across Greater Manchester to remove salt from the tables, the ASK campaign hopes to encourage customers to taste their meal before deciding whether they wish to add more salt.
In most cases food will already be seasoned adequately when it is served. But if you really want salt, all you have to do is ASK.
It should be stressed that the intention is not to ban salt, which is of course an essential ingredient in a lot of recipes, but to get residents of Greater Manchester thinking about whether they actually need to add salt and how much they are consuming.
For more informatin visit www.salt.gov.uk
How business owners can join the halt the salt scheme
If you have a business and would like to take part in the ASK campaign please contact your local authority Food Safety and Trading Standards Officers. See contact numbers below.
Bolton 01204 336500
Bury 0161 253 5353
Manchester 0161 234 4873
Oldham 0161 770 4455
Rochdale 01706 924141
Salford 0161 925 1082
Stockport 0161 474 4208
Tameside 0161 342 2278
Trafford 0161 912 4529
Wigan 01942 827490