COMA's verdict, laid out in its report on cardiovascular disease, was that salt intake should be reduced from around 9g to 6g per person per day. Some COMA committee members accused the Government of bowing to pressure from the food industry, and in 1996, the British Medical Journal published an editorial condemning what it saw as the food industry's attempt to interfere with science to the detriment of public health. Under new Labour, the issue was reopened and, in December 1997, the British Heart Foundation was asked to further explore the effect of sodium in food. A government recommendation to lower sodium may be on the cards, but major retailers have already told manufacturers to lower salt across their product ranges, and some have launched special healthy lines that address the issue. Meanwhile, salt producers and some major food manufacturers continue to refute the arguments against salt.
Salt substitutes Potassium chloride salt substitutes are one way that sodium intake can be reduced.
Potassium chloride salt substitutes can also be used at home, but recent US research has hinted that a small proportion of hypertensive individuals may be sensitive to chloride as well as sodium, in which case, potassium chloride gives little advantage.