Salt shakers made with fewer holes 'to cut salt intake'

[Kire]

Source: BBC

Salt shakers 'to cut salt intake'
Friday, 1 August 2008 19:10 UK

Salt shakers with fewer holes have been sent to fish and chip shops in an attempt to curb salt consumption.

West Norfolk Council spent about £450 sending 200 shakers, which have only four holes, to 39 shops in the area.

It said it hoped the scheme would help residents limit their salt intake to the guideline maximum of 6g a day.

A spokesman for the National Federation of Fish Friers called the scheme a "gimmick" and said customers would just shake the containers more.

Graham Adderson, 62, who owns the Downham Fryer, in Downham Market, said: "I think the scheme is hilarious.

"If you want to put salt on your fish and chips and there are only four holes, you're just going to spend longer putting more on."

Health benefits

Mr Adderson was given three new salt shakers on Tuesday and said he has not noticed any difference so far.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/norfolk/7538134.stm

---

I could see this a sign of harder economic times, but the article goes on to say it is the idea of some "health professional" trying to get people healthier.

[babylonsister]

1. Bwhahaha! They don't work now! Bwhahaha! Think 'humidity', Bwhahaha!~nt

[Muttocracy]

2. High Blood Pressure Incidence Rises Due to Frustrating New Salt Shakers

[Skittles]

15. LOL......Joe

:rofl:

[rucky]

43. But think of all the extra calories they'll burn. n/t

[ChairmanAgnostic]

59. forget about those who untwist the top to pour into palm, too.

maybe they will need salt locks. Except that sounds too much like salt licks.

[BlooInBloo]

3. Bah - now I'll have to shake the fucker 2x as long.

[Fox Mulder]

4. Just shake the shaker twice as long...

:shrug:

Dumbest. Idea. Ever.

[Cronus Protagonist]

63. Reminds me of the CA shower head requirements

If you don't take the flow limiter off, it takes almost half an hour to have a shower! Without one, I'm in and out in five minutes or less, and I use less water too.

[Muttocracy]

5. What if they unscrew the tops and dump the salt on instead? nt

[Orrex]

7. That's the brilliant part!

They make the threads on the shaker-lids backwards, so that you have to turn them clockwise to open them. The average salt addict just can't figure it out.

[Orrex]

6. Actually, the GOP has known of this technique for years

When they join the party, they have their anuses surgically sealed, to limit their shit output to just one orifice.

[flvegan]

8. Salt would never touch my fish 'n chips.

Don't touch my vinegar, though.

[LeftyMom]

9. Wait a minute...

:wtf:

[JVS]

25. It's the vegan betrayal!

I've seen perfectly good vegans fall off the wagon for veal pizza.

[AtheistCrusader]

12. Hell yes.

Seriously, who puts salt on Fish & Chips.

[flvegan]

18. Heathens.

[jmowreader]

39. FISH would never touch your fish 'n chips either!

[flvegan]

47. This is also true.

But back in the day...

[sasquatch]

51. Nice post Benedict Arnold

:P

[depakid]

10. So you have a problem with helping to keep people's blood pressure in line?

by something so simple and inobtrusive as this?

:shrug:

[AtheistCrusader]

13. Maybe the controversy is a good way

to spread the word. On the face of it, it seems like a silly way to reduce the salt, but the absurdity of it can get people thinking about it.

[depakid]

14. That might be the sort of slick marketing that the NHS needs

e.g. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/333/7557/10?ehom

[Kire]

16. my opinion doesn't matter

I'm not a taxpayer in West Norfolk

[depakid]

22. You also don't live in a nation with universal healthcare

where people only pay around 20 bucks per prescription. Though if you did, you'd probably support keeping your tax bill down for your share the subsidy through all sorts of preventative measures and public health campaigns.

[Kire]

23. interesting

hadn't thought of that

thanks

[depakid]

24. $20 per prescription is impressive, eh?

Last time I had to get a scip in the states it cost about 8X that much- and I bet a lot of people on the board pay a lot more out of pocket.

Getting tough for the Brits to provide that benefit, though:

Call to curb rising NHS drug bill
January 8, 2008

More must be done to curb NHS spending on prescription drugs in England, which has more than doubled in a decade to £8.2bn a year, MPs say.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7190267.stm

[bdf]

27. Those costs apply to England

And probably to Northern Ireland. In Wales and Scotland prescription items are free. It's been that way in Wales for around a year now.

[Spouting Horn]

32. Free?

You mean no one's paying for it?

Where do the pills come from, the sky?

[bdf]

35. Yes, free.

The pills come from the pharmacist. Who gets reimbursed by the government. Who get the money from taxation. So in that sense we all pay. But as far as the patient is concerned, it's free. It doesn't cost anything to go to the doctor, either.

And yet our national spending per person on healthcare is less than that of the US. Oh, and our health as a nation is considerably better than that of the US (which is waaaaay down the league of developed countries).

[Catch22Dem]

40. Oh please

People will just shake them longer, but they'll get the same amount of salt on their food because it's what they want. It's an idiotic idea and the OP is just pointing that out. I mean, fuck, if I unscrew the lid it only has ONE hole in it, right? I think another poster said something about the word "pointless" being invented for situations like this. That poster is right.

I actually don't salt anything, but that's just me.

[depakid]

53. Looks like it's part of a larger campaign

as atheistcrusader implied:

Chippys back healthier salt shaker (Rochedale Council)

The borough’s chip shop owners are backing a council campaign to reduce our salt intake and improve our health by using a salt shaker with fewer holes.

Too much salt has been linked to some of the country’s biggest killers - heart attacks and strokes. In the run up to National Salt Awareness Week, the council’s food safety experts are carrying out a trial with a range of local chip shops and other caterers who are switching to new ‘low-flow’ salt shakers to help customers cut their salt intake.

In the UK 85% men and 69% of women eat too much salt and the Government’s Food Standards Agency recommends that anyone over 11 should have no more than 6 grams or about a level teaspoon in their diet every day. The new salt shakers have fewer holes so people can still enjoy their meal but more easily reduce the amount of salt they add.

The council’s cabinet member for the environment and sustainability, Councillor Wera Hobhouse said: "In the borough, the early death rate from heart disease and stroke is the third highest in England.

"The council is backing the use of the new shakers because everybody wins. They are healthier for customers because too much salt increases blood pressure and increases the risk of developing heart disease or having a stroke. And at the same time, chip shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs save money because less salt is wasted and their food tastes just as good or better.”
Cutting children's salt intake

Salt Awareness Week 2008 runs from 28 January to 3 February. This year it will focus on salt and children.

Research has shown that reducing children's salt intake by half results in immediate falls in blood pressure, which in turn could lead to major reductions in the risk of developing stroke, heart attacks and heart failure later in life. It is well established that the higher the blood pressure in childhood, the higher the blood pressure in adulthood. Therefore, anything that lowers blood pressure in children is likely to reduce the number of people developing high blood pressure later in life.

http://www.rochdale.gov.uk/latest_news/chippys_back_healthier_salt_sh.aspx

[JerseygirlCT]

45. is this really going to help?

If they're that sensitive to salt, perhaps they just need not to use it. I'm not seeing how this is going to have much of an effect, tbh.

[T_i_B]

65. It's more of a problem with people being treated like toddlers by local councils.

Whatever happened to the concept of personal responsibility?

And don't local councils have better things to do anyway?

[dweller]

11. Margaritas on the house everyone !!!

hold the salt...

for your health ya know. :7

dp

[arikara]

17. If they'd use a good quality sea salt

with all the vital trace minerals still intact, instead of that refined white chemicalized shit there wouldn't be any health problems from it. And they could even keep the old shakers because sea salt is hard to shake out.

[muriel_volestrangler]

26. What's your definition of a 'trace mineral', and of a' chemical'?

And into which category does sodium chloride, the main constituent of all sea salt, fall? Given that this is about cutting down the intake of sodium chloride, why do you think the presence or absence of other trace chemicals will make any difference?

[arikara]

56. Because substances that have been refined, adulterated, chemicalized

are not going to be as healthy as the real thing.

...standard table salt is highly refined, chemically cleansed, and unfriendly to the human body. Unrefined sea salt, on the other hand, is a naturally occurring complex of sodium chloride, which includes major minerals such as calcium and magnesium and a complete complement of essential trace minerals. This is the form of salt the body is designed to utilize – having been the salt of choice since humans first walked the earth. Refined table salt, on the other hand, is a modern invention, artificially designed to look white and pour easily. The human body doesn't like it.
http://www.naturalnews.com/019680.html
...

Most people are deficient in vital trace minerals because of today's agri-farming practices. For example, magnesium and selenium deficiencies are rampant, and people are becoming very ill from the lack. Real sea salt helps to add some of these back into the diet in a natural, easily absorbed form.

[muriel_volestrangler]

60. Again, you seem to think that 'chemicalized' means something

when it doesn't - sea salt is chemicals, too - 'trace minerals' are all inorganic chemicals. And I must point out that 'refined' and 'adulterated' are opposites.

The problem here is the sodium intake - it's too high. Getting small amounts of other chemicals like calcium and magnesium as well isn't going to affect that. If wouldn't help in the slightest if the fish and chip shops used sea salt instead (unless people got fed up with it pouring worse, and therefore used less - which is the same idea as the council is trying to push).

[arikara]

64. Believe what you want

and I will do the same. We all take care of ourselves in the best way we know how.

Peace to you.

[Codeine]

28. Salt is salt.

From the sea or a salt mine it has precisely the same effect on your body.

[T_i_B]

33. Maldon Sea Salt!

From East Anglia, just like West Norfolk Council!

http://www.maldonsalt.co.uk/

[JerseygirlCT]

46. Tastes better, too. nt

[Bill McBlueState]

61. huh

I've *heard* that people have this particular attitude about sea salt versus refined salt, but I rarely see it expressed. Fascinating.

[T_i_B]

68. Oh I've seen it with British foodies

But then again we have Maldon Sea Salt over here, and Maldon Sea Salt is actually better.

It's more expensive then regular salt as well but there you go.

[bicentennial_baby]

19. Were I there, I'd just unscrew the top and pinch it out as I see fit...

I hate the "nanny state" moniker, but it kinda fits here. I'll regulate my own salt consumption, thanks. :eyes:

[JCMach1]

20. Won't work in humid places... will just CLOG miserably...

[1monster]

34. In La Florida, we just add a couple of grains of rice at the bottom of each salt shaker...

And, voila, no humidity clumped salt.

[JCMach1]

57. Yes, that will work, but not if you shrink the holes

[Prophet 451]

21. The word "pointless" was invented for this

All that will happen is that the shakers will clog, people will use them twice as long to get the same amount and be pissed that they're not working right.

Personally, I put so much salt on my chips that my family have suggested I skip the chips entirely.

[rasputin1952]

29. LOL...this is one of the nuttiest things I've heard of...

My step-dad had elevated BP, so the doc told him to cut out salt, he did, albeit w/a bit of trouble, as almost everything has some salt in it already.

I am the type of person that has to taste the salt, so my baked spuds, fries, green beans, steak or burgers, always seem safe from those who would poach them, as they find it too salty. But the real problem here is India Black Ink, if i recall, traditionally, F&C was served in a cone made from newsprint. Since the ink used is lead based, to get it to that black color, if you eat enough of them, you might well become poisoned by the lead, not to mention that the fried foods themselves are apparently gastrointestinal mines in themselves, and have the potential for increased cholesterol buildup in the arteries.

All things considered, it is just one more dumb idea, and may even increase the rate of carpal tunnel syndrome from all that excess shaking of the shakers.

[muriel_volestrangler]

49. FWIW, I haven't seen real newsprint used for a decade or two

for hygiene reasons - it may actually be illegal. A few places have specially printed cones to look like newspaper (but which are OK for use with food), but it looks rather twee if you ask me.

I suppose this might, conceivably, help cut the salt intake of a tiny minority of people - those who just automatically shake the salt for 5 seconds or whatever. But since clumping does happen, most people actually watch what's coming out, so they'll think, and shake it longer.

[rasputin1952]

50. We put a few grains of rice in the shaker for the humidity...

seems to work, and helps break up the clumps...:)

I dodn't thiink they stillused newsprint, but one can never be sure unless one is either their, or has visited recently. England is one place I missed when i was in the Army, wisah I would have taken some leave and gone there.

[bigworld]

30. £450 for 200 shakers?

Someone made a mint. Just put a sticker in the underside of the lid, covering up a few holes.

[rpannier]

31. Dumb idea

People will do what I do.

Shake harder and longer.
An extra five seconds will mean little.

[JeanGrey]

36. Talk about "nanny state".... Why don't the just go ahead

and herd us into fat camps and restrict all food they don't want us to eat. It IS coming, and soon.

[nolabels]

37. Who in the hell uses salt shakers anyway?

I have a hard enough time reading all those ingredients labels trying to stay away from the crap, that stuff will kill you.



Probably goes to figure with so many that would think :nuke: bombs would protect them in thinking excess salt is healthful :shrug:

[tpsbmam]

38. I do.

For those rare occasions when I want to add salt to something. Moved to this house almost 4 years ago and filled a small salt shaker with salt. I still haven't emptied it or had to refill it. HAVE to have salt on my french fries! But since I make & eat fries about twice a year, my salt shaker stays pretty full. :P

[jmowreader]

41. I have a better idea to cut down salt intake at fish & chip shops...

Convincing people they shouldn't eat at fish & chip shops so much would cut down on salt consumption (also FAT consumption) at fish & chip shops. How the hell do you "eat healthy" at a place where everything on the menu was boiled in oil?

[bbgrunt]

42. I know--maybe they should constrict the size of the doorways

into fish and chips shops so only skinny people could enter. yeah, that's the ticket.

[number6]

67. lol

just like salt shakers with fewer holes

"should constrict the size of the doorways"

[JerseygirlCT]

44. I agree with Mr. Adderson.

If I want salt, I want salt. I'll just keep shaking, thanks.

Not everyone is sensitive to salt, anyway. And even if that's an issue, it's often not the stuff you shake on that's the problem - you know about that - it's the sneaky stuff already built in to the food that'll get you.

I happen to have pretty low b/p most of the time. So, as my dr. said - go ahead and salt it up!

[Auggie]

48. Dumb and dumber

[slampoet]

52. Just give them Pepper shakers from New England. Pepper shakers here only give you three grains

at a time anyways.

[notadmblnd]

54. yeah.. cause they know were all just too stupid to take the lid offf

if we want more.

[CoffeeCat]

55. The powdered vanilla shaker at Starbuck's....

...has the same type of product-impeding cap on it.

Instead of standing their shaking powdered vanilla in my coffee for 15 minutes, I unscrew the
cap and dump some in.

Problem solved.

I don't own a salt shaker though. Never use the stuff. Food has so much sodium in it--it's disgusting.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

58. I switched my salt and pepper shakers years ago

...pepper shakers having smaller or fewer holes than salt shakers. We like MORE pepper, and slower flowing salt. So I put the salt in the pepper shaker and vice versa.

[slackmaster]

62. Reminds me of something I remember from Captain Kangaroo as a small child

The Captain occasionally did a show-and-tell of bizarre inventions. One that stuck in my mind was a salt shaker with no holes in the top - "A salt shaker for people who don't like salt!"

[number6]

66. what rocket scientist came up with this..?

same one that did Bush's win the hearts and minds of muslims program

John Hagee, Rod Parsley, Franklin Graham, Norm Podhoretz on
tour in the middle east, to boost USA s image

:rofl: fewer holes 'to cut salt intake'
this one should work for DOD