Bakers cut down on salt by stealth

The quantity of salt in our daily bread has been cut by 10 percent over the past three years, a move that went totally unnoticed. The drop in salt content was necessary because Belgians consume on average twice the daily quantities recommended by the federal service for public health. The initiative to reduce salt content is the result of a promise made in 2009 by the food industry to the federal government. Until a few years ago, bread in Belgium typically contained 17g of salt per kilo – the maximum legal quantity. The average salt content is now 14.8g per kilo. “At European level, this is certainly a nice result,” says Cathou Wagemans, secretary-general of the Federation of Large Belgian Bakeries.