Targets to lower salt by 2024 could hurt British cheesemakers
Government proposals to lower the salt content in some traditional British cheeses have been described as 'lunacy' by a West Country MP
Last updated 19th Jan 2022
Campaigners are worried Government plans to reduce the amount of salt in some foods by 2024 could hurt Britain's artisan cheesemakers.
They warn a certain level of salt is needed as part of the blue cheese and stilton-making process to kill harmful bacteria - as well as ensuring a quality tasting product.
Groups including Dairy UK say the use of certain levels of salt in cheesemaking is an 'integral aspect' rather than a 'part of a recipe which could be adapted'.
They warn new regulations could put British cheesemakers at a disadvantage by pushing shoppers to buy more foreign cheese.
West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger is among those calling for certain targets to be revisited, warning: "I should like to know how many people health officials believe have died from salt overdose as a result of eating too much Stilton."
Mr Liddell-Grainger says health campaigners are choosing the wrong target 'and could end up inflicting serious damage on the flourishing craft cheese sector'.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities says it wants to see salt levels in Stilton and other blue cheeses lowered from an ‘unhealthy’ average of 2.1 per cent to 1.8 per cent by 2024 and has launched a consultation with the industry.
But the proposal has brought an immediate reaction from cheese makers who say reducing the salt content will impair the keeping quality of their products and make it all but impossible to manufacture them.
And they have been supported by trade body Dairy UK which is now calling on MPs of all parties to press for a derogation to allow the current salt levels to be maintained.
In a letter to MPs, Dr Judith Bryans, CEO of Dairy UK, warned: "The dairy sector understands why Public Health England (now incorporated in the newly formed Office for Health Improvement and Disparities) wants to take action to reduce excessive salt intake.
"However, we would urge that health policy in the UK is effective and proportionate in reaching its goal.
"These salt reduction measures unfairly target and put pressure on some of the nation's much loved cheeses, and would see Britain at a huge competitive disadvantage with other European and international cheesemakers whose products would not be subject to the same rules.
"Not only this but a continued reduction in the levels of salt will lead to serious concerns over the safety and the quality of cheeses, given salt’s central role in preventing the growth of harmful organisms and in developing defining cheese characteristics, such as flavour, texture, colour and crust."
She added: "The cheese sector has already made great strides in reducing the salt content of its products, but salt continues to play a fundamental role in the cheesemaking process after hundreds of years, for sound technical and safety reasons, as well as taste.
"It is right that public health measures to reduce salt content focus on discretionary and nutrient poor foods, but they should not endanger nutritious and traditional foods such a blue cheese. "
The group is requesting The Government 'recognise that Blue Stilton - which holds a Certified Trademark and a Protected Designation of Origin - should be 'excluded from salt reduction measures in light of the stringent conditions manufacturers have to follow in order to make and sell this cheese'.
The add: "If this is not an option, keep the salt target at two per cent for the blue cheese category, in recognition of the vital role salt plays in cheesemaking and in providing safe and quality cheeses."
Mr Liddell-Grainger, MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset, said the proposal was yet another 'unwarranted intrusion by public health busybodies'.
He said: “Stilton is a legally protected food product and the use of a certain amount of salt is essential to its manufacture.
"The craft cheese sector has really taken off in the last 20 years or so and we now have a range of artisan British cheeses that is the envy of the world.
"But I should like to know how many people health officials believe have died from a salt overdose as a result of eating too much Stilton. Stilton is a niche product which appeals to connoisseurs and which is generally eaten in small quantities."
Mr Liddell-Grainger said OHID’s announcement was yet another example of Government picking on the wrong target, singling out a successful craft food sector when the real heath risk to the nation continues to come from industrial food production.
"It’s utter lunacy to try to interfere in the production of a long-established traditional product while doing nothing about the huge tonnages of fat-, sugar- and salt-laden processed foods which are finding their way onto the market on a daily basis," he said.
"If you examine the ingredients in some of these products it becomes quite clear why we have a national problem with obesity, heart disease and diabetes which is piling up such monumental costs for the NHS.
"This is the area where the Government should be directing its healthier eating campaign, not at a sector which is successfully producing and promoting traditional foods which have been enjoyed safely for years – and in Stilton’s case since the 17th century."
For more about the salt reduction targets in specific foods click here
We did contact The Government for more information about the plans and officials sent a link to the last consultation - which the industry believes has resulted in recommendations that are still under discussion.