Aims and objectives
As Europe’s largest frozen food company, Nomad Foods is bringing their Better Food programme to consumers as part of its commitment to helping consumers eat a little more goodness every day.
Nomad Foods is rolling out an ambitious Salt Reduction Strategy based on adhering to the company’s Responsible Per Portion Guidance, meeting salt reduction targets and carrying out local benchmarking data to help reduce salt content in across their products. The strategy will focus on two goals:
- Short term – to NOT be the highest in salt of our competitive set
- Long term – to be at the lower end of our competitor set
Ingredients and processing
As part of the company’s biannual salt reduction report, the bestselling products by volume per country are assessed and their salt content benchmarked. The benchmark allows Nomad Foods to identify products that are high in salt compared to competitors and make adjustments against the company’s guidance.
Development and testing
Once products have been identified as amongst the highest or the highest in salt in the benchmark, action plans are put in place to reduce the salt levels. Products are monitored against the company’s guidance, and where this guidance is not met, action plans are put in place to reduce the salt in these products.
Salt reduction is best achieved through the reformulation of product recipes and the removal of small quantities of salt over time without affecting the flavour profile of the product. Consumer tests help the company assess the impact of salt reduction on the likeness and acceptability of the product. By undertaking steady salt reduction, the company is helping consumers adapt their tastebuds to less salty food products.
Results and outcomes
The success of Nomad Food’s ambitious Salt Reduction Strategy is based on the removal of over 220 tonnes of salt from their global portfolio through product reformulation since 2020. This supports the company’s global efforts to reduce salt intake at a population level and supports individuals to adapt their tastebuds to consume a little less salt without taking away the flavour and joy from eating their favourite foods.
