At A Glance
Partnering with early care and education centers, universities, and colleges, the Onondaga County Health Department engaged food service management, staff, chefs, and dietitians in an interactive, hands-on, chef-led training to demonstrate ways to decrease sodium in recipes that are regularly offered in their cafeterias. Within 1 year following the training, 100% of partnering sites changed to lower sodium products and/or had altered all of their recipes for their daily meal services to be lower in sodium using the techniques they learned.
Public Health Challenge
Americans eat processed foods or meals away from home about 5 times per week, and these foods contribute to 77% of our total sodium intake. The average sodium consumed per day (3,400 mg) is 1½ times the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended limit of 2,300 mg. According to the 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, nearly one-third of Onondaga County, New York residents had high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Heart Disease is the leading cause of death in Onondaga County (139.9 per 100,000) and stroke is the fifth leading cause (30.9 per 100,000), according to 2018 National Vital Statistics System data. Eating less sodium can prevent and lower high blood pressure. Educating food service staff about buying lower-sodium products and using healthier preparation methods can help consumers reduce the amount of sodium they consume.
Approach
Onondaga County Health Department’s Sodium Reduction in Communities Program (SRCP) collaborated with Chef William Collins, a culinary specialist who teaches at Syracuse University, to show participants easy ways to reduce sodium in menus. Thirty participants included foodservice staff from partnering early care and education centers, universities and colleges. Chef Collins led them through interactive, hands-on strategies to reduce sodium in recipes: the addition method, diluting sodium in prepared foods by adding sodium-free ingredients; buying lower-sodium products; reducing serving sizes; and increasing the use of garlic, onions, herbs, spices, citrus, and vinegars.