All the pleasure of the French baguette, without the guilt. This Tuesday, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that between 2015 and today, the salt content in common breads -including the traditional baguette- has decreased “more than 20%”. By 2022, the bakery industry has pledged not to exceed 1.5 grams of salt per 100 grams of bread.
This ongoing adjustment in composition is welcomed by Faïza Bossy, vascular doctor and nutritionist:
“This is great news for this flagship product of France. Especially since the baguette is a simple product, flour, water and salt, which makes it a healthy final product”
And for good reason, bread and, a fortiori, the baguette make up a significant part of the French diet. According to figures from the Fédération des entreprises de Boulangerie Pâtisserie (FEB), 10 billion baguettes are sold in France every year, or about 320 baguettes gobbled up every second.
In 2021, the French consumed an average of 105 grams of bread per day, around 10% less than in 2015. A drop that can be explained by a change in flavor, medical awareness or simply the slight inflation that the product has experienced, around 8% in one year according to INSEE.
Increased risk of hypertension
The baguette is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the salt, not so much. The member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) have committed to reducing the salt consumption of their populations by 30% by 2025. An adult should consume less than 5 grams per day, the equivalent of one teaspoon. “In France, on average, we are around 7 to 8 grams”, underlines the nutritionist doctor. “It’s about a teaspoon, or not that much.”
“Reducing salt intake has one of the best cost-effort ratios from a public health standpoint. Consuming it in excess increases cardiovascular risks, on the contrary, reducing its consumption will protect us. It is rare for a food to see such a clear effect!” he adds.
Too much salt is a higher risk of hypertension. This “silent but deadly disease” is the leading cause of stroke worldwide. It affects one in three adults worldwide. Basically, salt is to cardiovascular risk what tobacco is to lung cancer.
But not all the salt in our diet comes from bread, far from it. Large amounts are found in so-called “ultra-processed” products, such as ready meals or sausages. Products that, in addition, are also full of sugar, fats and additives.
“There is salt everywhere, it is a great flavor enhancer that can mask poor quality products”, recalls the doctor. However, this essential element for the functioning of our nervous, muscular and blood systems should not be demonized. “What prevails is balance.”
Be careful though, it’s not because the salt level has dropped in the baguette, that it should be abused. The traditional baguette is usually made with flours that cause an increase in blood glucose levels. “What can increase the risk of diabetes, obesity and liver overload in the long term in some people,” explained Dr. Réginald Allouche, a physician and biomedical engineer, in the columns of the Parisian.
Source: BFM TV
