FSSAI commences national low salt cooking challenge

In alignment with this year's theme 'More Flavor, Less Salt' announced by WASHH (World Action on Salt, Sugar, and Health) during the world salt awareness week from 8 to 14 March, FSSAI commenced the National Low Salt Cooking Challenge (NLSCC) to engage and sensitize citizens to reduce the amount of salt in home-cooked foods.

Organized under the ambit of Eat Right India movement, this challenge is of its kind virtual cooking competition to increase awareness among people on the importance and ways to cook commonly consumed foods using less salt. This challenge received entries from various teams consisting of nutrition and culinary community to present regional nutritious meals using less salt without compromising the taste and flavor in food preparations.

More than 200 participants competed in teams of four or two across different regions. Amongst eligible teams, 16 teams prepared recipes from Northern India; 15 from Southern India; 14 from Western India; 6 from Central India; 5 from North Eastern and 4 from the Eastern Region States. The winning team, "Na-Namak," presented a Maharashtrian Thali followed by a Thali from Vidharbha Region and a Punjabi Thali by the Ist runner up "Varhadi Tadka" and IInd runner-up "NIPS Team 3" respectively. The teams used different approaches to reduce the amount of salt in the preparation of recipes.

Salt is an essential ingredient for both food and health. However, excess consumption of salt leads to increased chances of high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke. The World Health Organization recommends less than 5 grams of salt intake in a day. One common method used by all the participants involved combining unsalted food with salted foods, resulting in a salt reduction in the overall meals. Other approaches included the usage of herbs and spices such as onion powder, garlic powder, lemon, celery seeds, tamarind powder, ginger powder, raw mango, and others that increased the flavor of foods with a lower amount of salt.

Mr Arun Singhal, chief executive officer of FSSAI, congratulated all the participants and highlighted that though it is just a competition to reduce the amount of salt in daily meals. Everyone aspires to win the competition, and the objective is not just winning the prize but imbibe the thought of salt reduction in our day-to-day eating practices. While everyone should think of reducing the amount of salt gradually, it is equally important to increase awareness among your families, friends, and relatives". "Salt reduction is conditioning and training of the tongue which can be achieved successfully by creativity and innovation in using our Indian Heritage like herbs, condiments, and spices in food preparations. Let's experiment through this low salt cooking challenge to get closer to natural flavors of the food and get a bonus of keeping hypertension and heart disease away.", said Dr Jagmeet Madan, Member, NeTProFaN and National President, Indian Dietetic Association (IDA).

The National Low Salt Cooking Challenge is an initiative under the Eat Right India movement and can be visited at https://eatrightindia.gov.in/hfss/nlscc/. The website contains useful resources and practical guide on simple ways for salt reduction in our diets. The challenge can also be followed at various social media platforms of FSSAI and with hashtags #LowSaltCookingChallenge #EatRightWithLowSalt #EveryGrainCounts #AskForLowSalt.