Chippies should cut the number of holes in saltshakers to improve nation's ... trends now
Lashings of salt and vinegar are arguably what makes fish and chips Britain's favourite national dish.
But public health experts suggest chippies should lead the way in making takeaways healthier – by reducing the number of holes in saltshakers.
Making small changes – such as smaller portions – could help to reduce the nation's bulging waistline, a House of Lords Committee heard.
Amelia Lake, a professor in Public Health Nutrition at Teesside University, said trials have proved popular, with most people not even noticing the salt reduction.
She said: 'We need to think about what we do. These outlets are everywhere and most of the time, they're ran by local people and it's a local business.
Public health experts suggest chippies should lead the way in making takeaways healthier – by reducing the number of holes in saltshakers. Making small changes – such as smaller portions – could help to reduce the nation's bulging waistline, a House of Lords Committee heard
Speaking at the Food, Diet and Obesity Committee, Amelia Lake, a professor in Public Health Nutrition at Teesside University, said takeaways were ingrained into society and important to local communities. When asked what initiatives have been successful, she added: 'We worked with people who supplied the packaging and we worked with them to provide a lighter bite box for fish and chips, it reduced calories and lots of people liked that'
'Those businesses are there and people like a takeaway.
'But will they notice how many holes are in the saltshaker? I'm the one that does every time I go in, but, but other people don't.'
Speaking at the Food, Diet and Obesity Committee, she said takeaways were ingrained into society and important to local communities.
As a result, lessening the negative impacts on health was about 'working with what you have', adding that businesses were not against changing behaviours.
When asked what initiatives have been successful, she added: 'We worked with people who supplied the packaging and we worked with them to provide a lighter bite box for fish and chips, it reduced calories and lots of people liked that.
'We looked at the number of holes in the saltshaker. Significantly changing the number of holes significantly reduced salt.'
Salt is a known cause of high blood pressure, responsible for thousands suffering or dying from a heart
