By Kim Rahn
Koreans are known for their high intake of salt and this habit is one of the main causes of health problems across the nation.
To fight this, restaurant owners have pledged to reduce quantities of sodium in the dishes they serve.
The Korea Foodservice Industry Association, a group of restaurant owners, said Thursday that it will launch a “low sodium campaign” to improve the nation’s diet.
“The government has started the campaign because a high level of sodium consumption is not good for people’s health. But the goal cannot be achieved without cooperation from the food-services sector, namely restaurants. So we decided to actively join the movement,” Lee Seong-geun, director of the association, said.
The nationwide campaign by the government and the association comes after studies showed Korean’s sodium consumption is huge, especially from eating out.
According to a report released by the Korea Food and Drug Administration in March, Koreans took in 4.8 grams of sodium on average per day in 2010, 2.4-fold the daily allowance of 2 grams recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The administration examined sodium content in 130 popular menu choices in restaurants, and found that 18 of them contained more sodium than the daily recommendation of 2 grams per serving, including several favorite kinds of “jjigae” (stew) and “jajangmyeon” (black bean noodle).
If an office worker has two meals in a restaurant every day, he or she easily reaches the average intake of 4.8 grams.
An excessive intake of sodium results in chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart or cerebrovascular disease (stroke), with medical bills accounting for 15.1 percent of the nation’s total medical expenditure.
The association said its 420,000 members will use low-sodium ingredients and develop menus containing less sodium.
“We’ll also actively participate in the government’s ‘healthful restaurant’ project, in which restaurant owners voluntarily reduce the use of sodium and artificial additives, so that we can enjoy a healthy eating culture,” Lee said.
The government plans to encourage 1,000 restaurants to join in the project by 2013.
Along with the low-sodium movement, the association also holds a campaign to reduce food waste. “If customers have a side dish they don’t like, we encourage them to tell us they don’t need it, so that we can take it away from the table before they begin eating. That way, we can reduce waste,” Lee said.