Dairy UK urges regulators to recognise the nutritional value of cheese
Dairy UK has called on regulators to take a more balanced approach to cheese and be more positive about its nutritional qualities.
Speaking at the All Party Parliamentary Cheese Group Reception in London on Wednesday evening, Dairy UK Communications Director Simon Bates said continued criticism of the use of salt in the cheese making process is often misleading and ill-informed.
“Cheese making is something that the UK dairy industry is immensely proud of and it is in everyone’s interests that its nutritional values are recognised.
“Cheese is made with just a few basic ingredients – milk, a starter culture, salt and rennet,” said Mr Bates. “Yet UK cheese makers have managed to take these few ingredients and turn them into over 700 named varieties. Each has its own unique taste, texture and nutritional composition.
“A 30g portion of cheddar contains 125 calories, 10g of fat and 6.5g of saturated fat. But it also contains protein, vitamin A, calcium, phosphorus and B vitamins.
“The Department of Health advises that adults don’t consume over 6g of salt a day. That 30g portion of cheddar cheese contains 0.5g of salt, or less than 10% of the recommended maximum intake, and cheese is only responsible for 4% of the nation’s salt intake.”
Mr Bates went on to explain that next week is National Salt Awareness Week.
“It is important to remember the facts about cheese and salt,” said Mr Bates. “Salt is added to cheese for safety and technical reasons. Without it, many products would be inedible and unsafe.
“As an industry, we continue to work on overcoming the technical barriers to reducing the salt content of our product, and no doubt in time we will succeed.
“But we must always put customer safety and acceptability at the heart of these efforts. We cannot compromise on safety.”
