SCOTTISH, award-winning chef Gary Maclean, has partnered with LoSalt® (the UK’s leading reduced sodium salt, manufactured in Scotland), in a bid to raise awareness amongst the foodservice sector on how investing in a reduced-sodium salt, could benefit customer health without compromising on taste.
Gary has joined the campaign as, like most people in the UK, he has personal experience of friends and family suffering from heart attack and stroke – so is working with LoSalt® to help progress conversations around the need for reduction in salt with hospitality catering, restaurants, food-2-go establishments and workplace canteens.
It’s a timely collaboration following the publication of the National Food Strategy Part 2 which puts the spotlight back on population salt intake, particularly as 75% of the salt we consumer is attributable to pre-made foods.
Gary Maclean comments: “Having been a professional chef for almost 35 years, I have seen a real change in the eating habits of people. Dining out is no longer a once-a-month event, so it’s vital that chefs think about the long-term effects of their food and cooking, as people put trust in their hands.
“Reducing sodium in food can have real health benefits, but also shows your customers that you care. Chefs have the power to make a difference and if more chefs embraced the health problems affecting the UK, it would send a real message of the importance of a healthy diet.
“Often chefs may think that “low in salt” means “low in taste”, but this isn’t the case. LoSalt, which is pinch for pinch the same flavour with no compromise on taste, is an example of how we can take simple measures which will make a difference. It can be used in exactly the same way as fine-flowing salt, without any recipe adjustments needed, meaning it’s an easy switch when cooking (or seasoning) which could make a huge difference. Plus, it’s a small Scottish company with over 35 years of heritage in a single tub, so I know it’s expertise I can trust and a business I can support at a local level also.”
Caroline Klinge, Marketing Director for LoSalt®, said: “At LoSalt®, we have long been flying the flag for salt awareness, which is why we’re delighted to welcome Gary to the team, who’s a fellow Scot and a real asset to the work we’re doing.
“Season With Sense aims to educate the consumer facilitating better salt choices both in and out of the home, in a bid to help reduce the incidence of stroke and cardiovascular disease, so working with Gary is crucial to help further this conversation with the foodservice sector.
“There is so much sodium hidden in the foods we eat, that in an ideal world everyone would stop adding salt themselves – be it at home or in a restaurant. Unfortunately, the reality is that people just don’t want to stop using salt altogether and it’s used as a seasoning to enhance the taste of food and help bring out the natural flavours.”
“Working with Gary, we can show that there is an alternative to regular salt and that simple measures, such as switching to LoSalt, can have a big benefit to overall health and wellbeing. It’s teaching people that small changes don’t need to be difficult and sometimes it’s just simply learning to Season With Sense.”
As part of the partnership, Gary has developed eight low-sodium recipes with LoSalt, to encourage both consumers and chefs alike to make the switch – as well as hosting an ‘Ask The Expert’ cook-a-long later in the year to demonstrate how cooking with a reduced-sodium salt doesn’t need to be difficult but is the next important step in helping to reduce the nation’s salt intake.