When Burger King announced in November 2008 that it would limit the amount of sodium in its kids meals to 600 milligrams or less, it appeared to signal a new push by the food industry to offer low salt alternatives.
But despite a push from the health industry, so far the trend hasn’t taken off.
There are several obstacles standing in the way, the biggest being the supply chain, said Aaron Allen, president of Quantified Marketing Group.
The supply chain has expanded to the point where operators are receiving food not only from all over the country but also from all over the world. And the best way to ensure those foods don’t spoil is to add salt.
"We've engineered food to last longer and to sit on trucks and on supply shelves and to be packaged up for longer periods of time," Allen said. "And that requires sodium and other preservatives."
Salt has been such an instrumental part of the food packaging process for so long that it might be hard to convince consumers that they need to cut back.
"For thousands of years, that's how we preserved meats and fish and all kinds of proteins, by packing it in salt. That's part of why we crave salt so much. It's an evolutionary thing," Allen said.
Flavor a top concern
But that craving keeps sodium intake a pressing concern for health professionals because it can result in high blood pressure and heart attacks. Still, it is not top of mind for many consumers, said Dr. Catherine Adams Hutt, a registered dietician and consultant with the National Restaurant Association.
"Consumers value taste, convenience and good value first and foremost. So the restaurant industry is trying to reduce sodium where possible — and where it doesn't make a change in taste," Hutt said. "The next level will be more difficult, where you reduce sodium to the point there is a taste difference. And the consumer isn’t demanding it, so that makes it more difficult for the restaurant or manufactured goods industries to make radical changes."
The elderly, although they may be more likely to need to cut back on sodium for health reasons, may be the most resistant. The average tongue has 10,000 taste buds that are replaced every two weeks, Allen said. But as people grow older those taste buds aren't replaced as often, cutting back the average number to 5,000.
"Since their palate is reduced to that level, they seek out bolder foods and flavors, and that’s why they put so much salt and seasoning on their foods," he said.
For those looking for big flavors, there are alternatives to adding salt, said Sara Monnette, senior manager of consumer and market research for Technomic Information Services.
"Consumers like things that are grilled, and things like wood grilling or wood firing can add a lot of natural flavor to an item," Monnette said. "Smoking or braising can bring out flavor rather than adding extra sodium to a dish."
'Fresh' the bigger trend
Restaurants also may be delaying the development of reduced sodium dishes because there are so many more pressing concerns for the industry, Quantified Marketing's Allen said.
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“If your clothes are on fire, you swat at the biggest flames," he said. "There's the recession and beyond that grocery stores are acting more like restaurants, which cuts into business. Then there's a foreign invasion of investors coming from overseas because the currency is devalued. It's a difficult time to be making big changes to familiar flavors."
Although sodium content may not be top of mind for consumers, they are attracted to the popular "fresh" trend, Allen said.
Wendy's recently launched a $75 million dollar campaign promoting how fresh their ingredients are, and Subway has been marketing itself as the fresh alternative for years. The sandwich chain provides point-of-purchase materials that group sandwiches according to dietary concerns, including low fat and low sodium options.
QSRs may be more successful in addressing the health concerns of sodium content, then, by concentrating on fresh offerings. By their nature, fresh foods typically are higher in nutritional value and will typically have a lower sodium content, Allen said. In contrast, 75 percent of America's sodium intake comes from processed foods, according to Center for Science in the Public Interest estimates.
Featuring fresh ingredients will meet the current trend and help overcome consumers' reluctance to cut salt.
"There are only four flavors you can taste with your tongue and salt is one of them," Allen said. "So people figure how can salt be bad for you if you can only taste four things and salt is one of them?"
