Manufacturers and artisans in France have unveiled new commitments to reduce salt by 5 percent on five charcuterie products and saturated fatty acids by 5 percent in a further 12 major product ‘families’ within five years. The sector has been coming under growing pressure to adapt traditional production methods in the light of new evidence of the health risks of consuming too much salty, fatty charcuterie. “There are often very high expectations or criticisms directed at charcuterie. It still represents 75 percent of the market
for French pork, it is a heritage that must be preserved, but we strive to be as much in line as possible with societal expectations: health, pleasure, taste and food safety,” Christiane Lambert, president of the Fédération des entreprises Françaises de Charcuterie Traiteur (FICT) told AFP. FICT has worked with the Confédération Nationale des Charcutiers Traiteurs (CNCT) to ensure these commitments apply to industrial manufacturers and small-scale producers who adhere to the same code of practice governing the composition and production of 450 products. “We
are going to reduce saturated fat content by 5 percent across 12 product categories that account for 45 percent of the market”. The agreement covers products such as boudin noir (black pudding/blood sausage), raw and cured hams, coppa, bacon lardons and poitrine, as well as certain poultry products and mousse de canard. The agreement also includes reducing the salt content by 5 percent in chorizo, pork rillettes, andouilles and andouillettes, fine-textured sausages, and cooked sausages and salamis, which account for a further 15 percent of
the market. However, no new commitment to lower nitrites has been announced. “On nitrites, the work has already been done, French charcuterie is 20 percent below European regulations … and studies show that if we reduce further, we jeopardise the preservation of the products,” insists Christiane Lambert. Consumer group Foodwatch, however, insists that it is possible to produce processed meat without additives that are potentially carcinogenic. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation has said that nitrates in processed meats mean consuming 50 grammes of it daily
increases cancer risk by 18 percent.
French charcuterie, salt reduction, saturated fat, nitrites, Health, FICT, CNCT, Foodwatch, World Health Organisation, processed meats