Wisbech Eagle
Member
- Location
- Truro Cornwall
- Country
England
I heard a report on Radio 4 this morning which both impressed and intrigued me. It doesn’t yet seem to be getting much press coverage and the only report I can find is in the Mail, so credit is due for that, even if there seems an over emphasis on “freedom” issues rather than health.
www.dailymail.co.uk
Ken Murphy, CEO of Tesco, is addressing a subject I have been passionate about since my days in the food ingredient industry. We consume far too much salt. Too much fat as well, but salt is the silent and largely unrecognised, killer. We have become conditioned to large quantities in our diets. It being a cheap ingredient that can disguise poor quality. It though has a very significant impact on health, particularly on the heart. We only need a tiny fraction of the amount consumed. I learned this 40 years ago and removed salt completely, using herbs and spices to flavour instead, in anything I cook from fresh ingredients.
What Murphy is saying is that with a joined up approach, involving the food industry and government, that the data the industry has on food purchases via loyalty cards could be used to advise people the level they are consuming, the possible consequences and the alternatives. Combining this with NHS data, and an education campaign, could produce very significant changes to our diets and to our health, reducing the demands on the NHS as a consequence.
I am convinced that the epidemic of heart disease we see can largely be attributed to the over consumption of salt.
I am as convinced that the huge rise in obesity we see is due as much to general over consumption, particularly of fats, as it is to our sedentary life styles.
Encouraging people to change by providing individual targeted information gathered through data that already exists seems a very clever, and extremely worthwhile, use of modern technology.
If I was still in the industry I would be backing this wholeheartedly.
Opinions?
Tesco could use Clubcard data to warn shoppers about fatty food
The supermarket boss said he expected to use artificial intelligence ( AI ) to help customers make healthier choices by alerting them when they go over their daily recommended allowance.
Ken Murphy, CEO of Tesco, is addressing a subject I have been passionate about since my days in the food ingredient industry. We consume far too much salt. Too much fat as well, but salt is the silent and largely unrecognised, killer. We have become conditioned to large quantities in our diets. It being a cheap ingredient that can disguise poor quality. It though has a very significant impact on health, particularly on the heart. We only need a tiny fraction of the amount consumed. I learned this 40 years ago and removed salt completely, using herbs and spices to flavour instead, in anything I cook from fresh ingredients.
What Murphy is saying is that with a joined up approach, involving the food industry and government, that the data the industry has on food purchases via loyalty cards could be used to advise people the level they are consuming, the possible consequences and the alternatives. Combining this with NHS data, and an education campaign, could produce very significant changes to our diets and to our health, reducing the demands on the NHS as a consequence.
I am convinced that the epidemic of heart disease we see can largely be attributed to the over consumption of salt.
I am as convinced that the huge rise in obesity we see is due as much to general over consumption, particularly of fats, as it is to our sedentary life styles.
Encouraging people to change by providing individual targeted information gathered through data that already exists seems a very clever, and extremely worthwhile, use of modern technology.
If I was still in the industry I would be backing this wholeheartedly.
Opinions?
