NEW DELHI – Nestle India is reducing the salt content of its best-selling brand Maggi, as the food giant looks to join the ranks of companies that are trying to develop healthier products. With young consumers increasingly becoming wary of packaged food, Nestle said it will cut salt in Maggi products – noodles, soups, sauces and seasonings – by a further 10% by 2020.
The company expects sales to rise as a result.
Over the last 10 years, Nestle brought down sodium content by around 33% in its Maggi portfolio. Currently, 100gm of Maggi has around 1.3gm of sodium. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a daily salt intake of not more than 5gm for adults, as anything more than that increases chance of hypertension, coronary diseases and cardiac arrest.
According to WHO, sodium is found naturally in a variety of foods, including milk and cream (around 50mg of sodium per 100gm) and eggs (around 80mg/100g). In processed foods, such as bread, it is found in much higher amounts (around 250mg/100g).
“We are building a new, a better, and an even stronger Maggi brand driven by our purpose, which is ‘enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future’. It is a step where we want to introduce products, which offer healthier choices to our consumers as we simplify our ingredients and encourage home cooking,” said Suresh Narayanan, chairman & MD, Nestle India.
Apart from reducing salt, the company is also looking for ways to fortify its mass consumption products.
