By Bae Ji-sook
Kimchi has been acknowledged for its abundant nutritional qualities due to the vegetable content and fermentation process. It represents a major “well-being” food of Korea with abundant lactobacillus, various vitamins, capsaicin and more.
Yet one thing has always downgraded the traditional side dish in terms of health benefits — it contains a large amount of salt. Since sodium is known to trigger hypertension and other diseases, overly salty foods are labeled “unhealthy.”
Now, the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) is leading a campaign to advise kimchi makers and housewives to reduce the salt in the recipe for a “healthier kimchi.”
According to a survey by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the amount of sodium intake for a Korean totals 4,553 milligrams a day, more than double the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 2,000 mg.
A daily portion of kimchi has 1,232 mg, taking up the lion’s share. Chinese cabbage kimchi contains 91 mg of sodium while that of turnips, diced turnips and water-kimchi had 167 mg, 53.8 mg and 36.7 mg, respectively.
The authorities said the usual method for making kimchi requires cabbage and main marinades to be salted and this explains the high amount of sodium in kimchi.
“In the old days they needed to put a great deal of salt in kimchi as a way of preservation. However, with the help of state-of-the-art refrigerators these days, we don’t need that much salt in kimchi,” a KFDA official said.
The food administration will announce a “low sodium project” from next year that includes kimchi.
Food making companies amid the well-being, healthy, dieting trend as well as the policies for the “globalization of Korean food” led by the government, are keen on reducing the salt content.
Daesang FNF, producer of the nation’s best-selling Jonggajip Kimchi, is about to launch a “less salty kimchi” next month. The company, which has been selling pre-packed kimchi for over 20 years, said it will lower the salinity rate to 1.6 percent next year from the current 2 percent. “In 1987, when we first started the business, it was at 2.5 percent.”
He said all food makers are striving to lower the percentage of salt to live up to the global health trends. “In order to appeal to more foreigners as a healthy food, it is necessary to lower the levels of salt,” he said.
Still, some observers say that the enthusiasm may quickly fade since many Koreans are used to a spicy — hot and salty— flavor for kimchi, which they eat with nearly every meal daily.