With everyone from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to First Lady Michelle Obama pushing foodmakers to cut the salt in their products, the salt industry is fighting back. And they warn that without enough salt, processed meats start to taste like cardboard or "damp dog hair." Yum!
The New York Times sent its correspondents to the front lines of the salt wars:
By all appearances, this is a moment of reckoning for salt. High blood pressure is rising among adults and children. Government health experts estimate that deep cuts in salt consumption could save 150,000 lives a year. ...
But the industry is working overtly and behind the scenes to fend off these attacks, using a shifting set of tactics that have defeated similar efforts for 30 years, records and interviews show. Industry insiders call the strategy