Restaurants ponder value of publishing sodium content

Restaurants now display menu information when it comes to the number of carbohydrates, fat and sodium that you eat when you order that double cheeseburger or seemingly healthy tofu Buddha bowl. It's all in the name of transparency, consumer awareness and better public health.

Now on the agenda for Health Canada is to set targets for sodium reduction in the restaurant industry, according to a recent report in The Globe and Mail.

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It is generally accepted, we are told by our health officials, that we should consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium – roughly one teaspoon – per day for optimum health. The truth is that, though salt is necessary for the proper functioning of the human body, we regularly eat more than 3,000 mg of sodium each day. Epidemiology studies – studies that examine health issues in certain identified populations – indicate that high sodium intake can cause health problems, including elevated blood pressure.

The Health Canada initiative, now in the early planning stages, is clearly considering imposing restrictions on chefs and how much salt they use in preparing food, but he doesn't say much about an educated consumer. According to the Globe and Mail report, Health Canada chief of nutrition regulations Alfred Aziz has said he will leave no French fry unturned. 

"Our objective is to reduce risk to health caused by excessive sodium intake. Whichever measure will help us get there, we'll be looking at those measures," Aziz said in the newspaper article dated November 20.

It's a complex issue. There is a link between high sodium intake and elevated blood pressure, and it can be more pronounced in different people. While an increase in how much salt you ingest may only raise your blood pressure slightly, people who are sensitive to salt intake should consume less of it.

But the broad Health Canada approach to the issue could certainly raise a cook's blood pressure. Salt is critical to giving food its flavour and chefs rely on the mineral for what they do in serving their customers. It's a foundational ingredient, and seasoning with salt is one of the most important skills cooks-in-training need to master, according to Eric Neaves, chef at Kitchener's Fork and Cork Grill.

Salt is a key ingredient just like acidity, sweet, bitter and umami.- Eric Neaves, Fork and Cork Grill

"You're building the seasoning throughout the whole process. Of course we taste as we cook and salt is a key ingredient just like acidity, sweet, bitter and umami. It's one of these core parts of a flavour profile that make up a dish and so you layer it in as you go. It really is something that's by feel, by taste and not so much by measure," Neaves says.

The measurement component is indeed problematic, according to Terry Salmond, chef at Kitchener's Charcoal Steakhouse.

"We could not possibly check the salt content on a dish-by-dish basis," Salmond says. "Ultimately, it cannot be regulated physically."

Nick Benninger of Waterloo's Fat Sparrow restaurant group points to the traditional fast-food culprits, like those listed in the Globe and Mail story, and in doing so suggests that any restrictions might not necessarily hamper fresh-food restaurants.

"It would probably affect places like mine less than we think. It may actually create an advantage for well-trained chefs who rely on more than just salt," says Benninger who owns and operates Taco Farm and Marbles restaurants in Waterloo.

It may actually create an advantage for well-trained chefs who rely on more than just salt.-Nick Benninger, Taco Farm

Regardless, cooks worth their salt don't like the sound of the intended initiative. "Running an independently owned and operated restaurant is a dodgy proposition at the best of times, and you get pretty nervous when you hear the head of health regulations for Health Canada say something like 'everything is on the table,'" says Neaves.

Imposing restrictions – "whatever is necessary," according to Aziz – is draconian and unrealistic, especially for smaller independent restaurants. While national chain fast-food restaurants, where a bagel can have more salt than a pack of French fries, have notoriously high sodium counts, they do list those numbers. But does anyone read them? Does another government regulation (something no one really needs) with across-the-board limits make sense in restaurants where food is made fresh and cooks have control of the sodium they add? And what about public education?

"Suddenly, it's not just a health issue," says Neaves, asking what kind of restaurants are we going to steer people towards? "Are they supporting local farmers and local economies? I think a more holistic approach needs to be considered."