WORLD SALT
AWARENESS WEEK RIGHTS DAY
SOUTH Africans’ salt consumption far exceeds the World Health Organisation’s target of 5g of salt a day.
The most recent data, from NorthWest University, showed nearly two-thirds of people (65%) were consuming more than that. Forty percent of younger adults had intakes of more than 9g.
Regularly eating too much salt increases the risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension), one of the main causes of stroke, heart attack and heart failure. About half of all South Africans (42% to 54%) suffer from hypertension.
Reducing your salt intake by 2g a day can lower your risk of heart disease by as much as 20%.
In 2016, the government introduced legislation to reduce the level of salt in processed food, which contributes to about 60% of salt in the diet. The legislation targeted foods that are the main contributors to salt, among them bread, margarine, butter spreads, stock cubes, soup powders, breakfast cereals, porridges and savoury snacks.
The first set of targets came into effect in June 2016, with the second level of implementation scheduled for June 2019. |
WORLD CONSUMER
IT’S WORLD Consumer Rights Day on Friday. This year’s theme is “Trusted Smart Products”. From smartphones and wearable fitness trackers, to voiceactivated assistants and smart TVs, many of the products we use are becoming connected by default.
The World Consumers Rights Day is focusing on what consumers want and need from a connected world, and how important it is to put them at the heart of the development of the digital products and services.
Globally, there are 23.1 billion smart products, outnumbering people three to one. The emergence of smart technology brings many opportunities for consumers; access to new services, more responsive products, convenience and choice. However, there are causes for concern: lack of security, privacy and meaningful choice over how we use them, as well as a lack of clarity about who is responsible when things go wrong. There are also issues around lack of access, with millions of people globally locked out of this new technology by high data charges.
Join the call for trusted smart products by using the #BetterDigitalWorld.
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