Reducing Sodium Across the Board

Abstract

Excess sodium intake can lead to increased blood pressure. Restaurant foods contribute nearly a quarter of the sodium consumed in the American diet. The objective of the pilot project was to develop and implement in collaboration with independent restaurants a tool, the Restaurant Assessment Tool and Evaluation (RATE), to assess efforts to reduce sodium in independent restaurants and measure changes over time in food preparation categories, including menu, cooking techniques, and products. Twelve independent restaurants in Schenectady County, New York, voluntarily participated. From initial assessment to a 6-month follow-up assessment using the RATE, 11 restaurants showed improvement in the cooking category, 9 showed improvement in the menu category, and 7 showed improvement in the product category. Menu analysis conducted by the Schenectady County Health Department staff suggested that reported sodium-reduction strategies might have affected approximately 25% of the restaurant menu items. The findings from this project suggest that a facilitated assessment, such as the RATE, can provide a useful platform for independent restaurant owners and public health practitioners to discuss and encourage sodium reduction. The RATE also provides opportunities to build and strengthen relationships between public health care practitioners and independent restaurant owners, which may help sustain the positive changes made.

Educating restaurant owners and cooks to lower their own sodium intake is a potential strategy for reducing the sodium contents of restaurant foods: a small-scale pilot study in South Korea

“…Regarding efforts to lower a population's sodium intake [26], empirical data from independent restaurants are particularly scarce [1024]. One study specifically targeted Chinese take-out restaurants in the US and demonstrated that most owners and chefs are willing to modify the sodium contents of their restaurant's foods [24].…”

“…Study participants exposed to menus with lowered sodium contents at their worksite cafeterias showed lower consumption of sodium as compared to participants under control conditions. In addition, one pilot study on independent restaurants in the U.S. demonstrated the possibility to alter sodium-related cooking methods and restaurant menu items [10]. However, strategies to lower sodium intake at local restaurants require more research to develop effective methods in different settings.…”

“…Most low-sodium initiatives at food outlets have focused on improving consumers' ability to choose healthier options, and these initiatives are mainly centered on worksite cafeterias [8910]. Although numerous health promotion programs have been developed to target restaurant workers, these programs were designed to improve general health indicators among low-income or immigrant workers in the U.S. [1819].…”

Sodium Reduction

“…Losby and colleagues 27 provide insight into working in senior dining facilities and the need to establish relationships with partners such as food service directors, suppliers, and distributors. Similarly, Schuldt and colleagues 28 describe a novel approach to engage independent restaurant owners—a nontraditional partner group—in reducing sodium levels in their menu items, underscoring the importance of including restaurant partners in sodium-reduction efforts.…”

“…The chain subsequently applied multiple strategies in a commercial environment with complex systems and operational processes. Schuldt and colleagues 28 and Taylor and colleagues 29 describe their work with partners to establish or leverage buying cooperatives, allowing them to pool their buying power from food distributors and increase the availability of lower-sodium products at affordable prices.…”