Wednesday, 13 April 2016
The average daily salt intake in Ireland is high - approximately 10g in adults.
This report provides recommendations for the food industry, general recommendations, recommendations for the FSAI and other government agencies.
Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, stroke and related diseases is the single highest cause of death in Ireland, accounting for over two in five (approximately 41%) of all deaths. High blood pressure is one of the major modifiable causal factors in the development of cardiovascular disease.
In recent decades, a substantial body of evidence has emerged from observational and experimental research to suggest that high dietary salt intake is an important causal factor in the rise in blood pressure with age and in the development of essential hypertension in industrialised countries such as Ireland.
There is also evidence that relatively modest reductions in salt intake have the potential to produce a significant fall in average blood pressure at a population level with a concomitant substantial impact on the burden of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease.
