Sodium seen as new food fight: McCain U.S. CEO

Sodium is shaping up to be the new battleground in the quest to make U.S. diets healthier, said Frank van Schaayk, chief executive officer of McCain Foods USA Inc., a major food supplier to restaurants. Privately held McCain has been part of the battle to remove artery-clogging trans fats from foods as the leading potato supplier to McDonald's Corp. and other restaurants. Canada-based McCain Foods Ltd. is working on different types of "flavor enhancers" and salt replacements to reduce sodium in foods, van Schaayk said. He declined to give details. But sodium does not necessarily have to be replaced with something else. "If you gradually reduce sodium, people learn to enjoy the foods with less sodium," he said.

Some U.S. food makers have already been taking steps to cut down on sodium in their products. Campbell Soup Co., for example, has a line of soups that use a lower-sodium sea salt. But most American food products ranging from snack foods to frozen dinners, carry high levels of sodium.

Courtesy of Reuters

Steve - there are two comments that need to be addressed here.

The bad...Flavor enhancers - he is refering to the umami enhancers that we are now starting to worry about (see our May Email Update). I anticpiate that they will just be adding more chemicals.

The good..."If you gradually reduce sodium, people learn to enjoy the foods with less sodium." This can only come from a person who has implemented and understands what a healthy lifestyle really is. If van Schaayk really means it, this is a significant development.