A recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 9 out of 10 Americans exceed the limit recommended for daily sodium intake. In fact, for the group of Americans whom a lower dietary intake of sodium is important, the amount of sodium consumed was more than double the recommended limit.

The CDC report also showed that only 9.6% of U.S. adults were below the recommended dietary limit of 2,300 mg per day for sodium; and only 5.5% among the group recommended to limit sodium intake to less than 1,500 mg per day achieved that target.  Overall, the average sodium consumption for U.S. adults was 3,466 mg per day, far in excess of the 2,300 mg per day recommended.  In the group of adults recommended to limit sodium intake to less than 1,500 mg per day, the actual intake averaged 3,366 mg per day. Excess dietary intake of sodium is not just an American issue but a genuine global health concern as emphasized by the World Action on Salt and Health and the World Health Organization.

Why is an excess intake of sodium a concern?  The scientific evidence is compelling that excess dietary sodium is associated with major adverse health outcomes, and that reducing this excess can be a cost-effective action that leads to a lower rate of new heart attack and stroke, as well as a lower death rate in all Americans, especially black men and women.

It has been estimated that 77% of dietary sodium intake in the U.S. comes from processed foods while another 11 percent comes from salt added at the table or during cooking. In the CDC report, most of the daily sodium consumed came from grain products such as yeast breads (36.9%) and meats, poultry, fish, and mixtures (27.9%), followed by vegetable products (12.4%).  The USDA has produced a list of the top products that contribute the most to daily sodium intake.

For any large scale sodium reduction strategy to be effective, it must engage all members of the entire food system including ingredient manufacturers, retailers, restaurants and especially the food industry.  PepsiCo has set a global goal and has made a commitment to reduce the average amount of sodium per serving in key global food brands, in key countries, by 25 percent by 2015, with a 2006 baseline. Given the capability we have today and substantial investments planned over the next 5 years, we believe we can achieve this goal.

For PepsiCo to achieve sodium reductions of 50% and greater, significant scientific and technological breakthroughs will be required and engagement of the broader scientific community is crucially needed. However, discussions of dietary sodium reductions today have typically been limited to public health officials, policy makers, health care providers and food industry scientists.  Conversations need to be broadened to include more than just these professionals. ‪

Input of scientists with expertise in taste perception; neurosensory receptor activation and signal transduction mechanisms; molecular and biophysical structure; and physiological properties of sodium salts is required to drive innovation.  We also need to engage scientists with expertise in socio-ecological determinants of lifestyle choices, behavioral economics, and choice architecture who can help nudge the public towards requesting and choosing foods and snacks with a reduced sodium content.‪

In the interim, we at PepsiCo are taking action today to increase the use of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, legumes, and nuts for which scientific evidence of health benefits exist.  In addition to our attention to sodium, we continue to invest in research and development and explore other opportunities (such as reducing added sugars, the saturated fat content, and calorie-density) to expand our product offerings.  We look forward to continuing the conversation on sodium and receiving input that may lead to even greater sodium reduction in foods without compromising taste, quality, and food safety.

References

1. CDC. Sodium Intake Among Adults — United States, 2005−2006. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; June 25, 2010; 59(24);746-749. URL: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5924a4.htm.
2. World Action on Salt and Health (WASH). Salt & Health. URL: http://www.worldactiononsalt.com/health/salt_health.htm.
3. World Health Organization. Sodium intakes around the world. Background document prepared for the Forum and Technical meeting on Reducing Salt Intake in Populations (Paris 5-7th October 2006). URL: http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/Elliot-brown-2007.pdf.
4. Bibbins-Domingo K, et al. Projected Effect of Dietary Salt Reductions on Future Cardiovascular Disease. The New England Journal of Medicine February 18, 2010; 362(7):590-599. URL: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/362/7/590
5. PepsiCo. 2009 Annual Report. Performance with Purpose – The Promise of PepsiCo. URL: http://www.pepsico.com/annual09/human_sustainability.html.
6. USDA.  National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 18; URL: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR18/nutrlist/sr18w307.pdf.
7. Mattes RD, Donnelly D.  Relative contributions of dietary sodium sources. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 1991;10(4):383-393.  URL: http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/abstract/10/4/383?ijkey=7496e0ca4e5e9caa2531f3ceebdcad5cb082678c&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha
8. USDA. Could Behavioral Economics Help Improve Diet Quality for Nutrition Assistance Program Participants? DR Just, L Mancino, B Wansink (eds); Economic Research Report no. 43, June 2007. URL: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err43/err43.pdf.

Note: The views expressed here represent the personal views of the authors and not necessarily the views of PepsiCo, Inc.

What is World Health Day?

World Health Day 2010 is today, April 7. The theme this year is ‘1000 cities, 1000 lives’ and the focus is on opening up public spaces to health – via things like activities in parks, town hall meetings, clean-up campaigns, or closing off portions of streets to motorized vehicles. The World Health Organization aims to collect 1000 stories of urban health champions who have taken action and had a significant impact on health in their cities. Events are being held this week in cities all over the world in order to promote health in urban areas.

Why the focus on urbanization and health?

Currently over 3 billion people live in cities and over the next 30 years virtually all population growth will be in urban areas. The urban poor also suffer disproportionately from a wide range of diseases and other health problems. Health outcomes are determined from environmental, social and physical infrastructure conditions and other factors that are often affected by rapid, unplanned urbanization. From the diet and physical activity point of view, urban environments tend to discourage physical activity and promote unhealthy food consumption. Issues such as overcrowding, pollution and lack of safe public spaces make physical activity difficult in many cities. Urban environments also have a greater supply of energy-dense, nutrition-poor foods with high levels of fat, sugar and salt. A fast paced, urban lifestyle also usually increases the amount of fast foods available. In 2003, the date of the last WHO World Health Survey, at least half the countries studied reported about a 70% prevalence of insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables in urban areas.

What is PepsiCo doing to help?

PepsiCo is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world and serves people in over 200 countries. We have a responsibility to serve our diverse consumer base – including of course those who live in urban areas. Performance with Purpose – our promise to deliver sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet – drives our work. As part of our PwP commitment we recently announced a number of global goals to guide us over the next decade.

While all of our global goals can have a direct impact on the health of people in urban areas, there are some additional opportunities as highlighted by the World Health Organization where PepsiCo can play a critical role. For example, the major drivers of health in urban settings go beyond the health sector. Social determinants – such as infrastructure, access to social and health services, local governance, educational opportunities and distribution of income – often converge in urban settings to strongly influence health status. Chronic health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity are all driven by these social determinants that can’t be solved by the health sector alone.  This makes it critical that companies such as PepsiCo are participants – along with municipalities, civil society and individuals – in the solution for healthier cities. PepsiCo is committed to engaging with global partners, and is taking a proactive role in dedicating resources that allow us to address the nutritional needs of underserved and lower income communities.

Another important way PepsiCo contributes is by supporting its own employees in their efforts to be healthy. We aim to provide an environment that encourages healthy eating and physical activity. Our corporate headquarters are on a beautiful campus complete with running and walking trails and an onsite gym. We encourage people to recognize World Health Day by doing something active today at work, or on the way home and to think about ways they can make the environments where they live healthier.

These goals are a critical part of our Performance with Purpose mission.  Performance with Purpose is PepsiCo’s promise to deliver sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet. As a global food and beverage company with brands that stand for quality and are respected household names—Quaker Oats, Tropicana, Gatorade, Lay’s and Pepsi-Cola, to name a few—we will continue to build a portfolio of enjoyable and wholesome foods and beverages, find innovative ways to reduce the use of energy, water and packaging, and provide a great workplace for our associates. We will also respect, support and invest in the local communities where we operate, by hiring local people, creating products designed for local tastes and partnering with local farmers, governments and community groups.

I’m particularly excited about PepsiCo’s global goals in the area of human sustainability – where I think we’re stepping across industry boundaries to address core health and wellness challenges in order to make our products more wholesome and nutritious. Our goals are aggressive and respond directly to changing consumer habits and, what we believe is our inherent responsibility as a global food and beverage company.  Specifically, we’re committing to:

• Increase the amount of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and low-fat dairy in our global product portfolio
• Reduce the average amount of sodium per serving in key global food brands, in key countries, by 25 percent by 2015, with a 2006 baseline
• Reduce the average amount of saturated fat per serving in key global food brands, in key countries, by 15 percent by 2020, with a 2006 baseline
• Reduce the average amount of added sugar per serving in key global beverage brands, in key countries, by 25 percent by 2020, with a 2006 baseline

Lifestyles, and in turn, consumption habits, are changing around the globe – particularly in markets like China and India where there is a direct correlation between food consumption and rise in GDP. As we see this trend line in emerging markets, research tells us that consumers across the U.S. and Europe want healthier products that are affordable, and, importantly, taste great. Because we’re committed to responding to market desires – and broader issues like local and international health epidemics—we’re ensuring that core PepsiCo products from brands like Lays, Pepsi, Tropicana and Quaker can be part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle for consumers around the world.

We’ve also committed to displaying calorie count and key nutrients on food and beverage packaging by 2012, and we will be the first company to eliminate the direct sale of full-sugar soft drinks in primary and secondary schools around the globe by 2012.

Our work in this area is firmly grounded in science, agriculture and technology and we’re collaborating with expert organizations like the World Health Organization and the World Heart Federation in order to fulfill these commitments. That’s why I’m as confident as ever that, with these goals guiding our way, we’ll continue to move toward supporting a healthier future for our consumers.

For more information and a full list of PepsiCo’s global goals – including specifics on our new commitments to water access and packaging reductions – you can check out: www.pepsico.com/goalsandcommitments.

Upon meeting with Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo chairman and CEO, I knew that combined with the companies strengths and vision I could make a unique contribution to one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies. PepsiCo is a global company truly committed to making a positive impact on the world’s population faced with serious nutrition challenges, including under-nutrition and obesity.

Every day, we act on that commitment through the wide variety of products we offer, the public-private partnerships we lead and engage with and the global health initiatives we actively support. For generations, we’ve been offering some of the world’s favorite foods and beverages. We’ll always offer well-loved brands like Doritos and Pepsi that bring joy and refreshment. Yet as we look to the future, we are increasingly focused on science-based nutrition as well.

We’re changing because our consumers are changing and because the health of the world’s growing population demands it. The global rise in obesity and hunger present a tremendous public health challenge. Our team of renowned scientists as well as experts in clinical science, epidemiology, nutrition, product development, food engineering and technology and public health provide a unique understanding of human physiology and the nutrition needs of diverse populations combined with a world class understanding of how to take the science and translate it into differentiated consumer products.

At PepsiCo, with the expertise and passion of our R&D team matched by our marketing and operational capabilities in the more than 200 countries where we operate, I know we’ll make a positive contribution.

Our overall goal is to deliver more nutrition per calorie in the products we offer and we’re acting on that commitment.

The good news is that our products begin with natural goodness – oats, wheat, potatoes, lentils, oranges, apples, nuts and seeds. Think about it. We make some of the world’s favorite brands: Tropicana orange juice and Quaker Oats oatmeal in many countries across the globe, SunChips multi-grain snacks in the U.S., Stila oat and fruit bars in Mexico, Lebedyansky juice in Russia, and we’re the largest seller of packaged nuts and seeds outside the U.S.

We’re working to deliver healthier nutrition per calorie by using healthier oils, reducing sodium and added sugars, baking instead of frying, using natural sweeteners and introducing products with more whole grains, protein, fiber, legumes, fruits and vegetables.

Since 2003, we’ve made great strides in improving the fats in our products by switching to healthier oils like corn and sunflower oils. We were the first major food company to remove trans fats from our snack chip portfolio by converting to corn oil. We reduced the saturated fat in our potato chips by switching to sunflower oil. In the UK and Europe, we’ve introduced Baked Walkers and Baked Lay’s with 70% less total fat than regular crisps. And between 2005-2009, Walkers reduced the level of saturates by up to 80% — this removed 40,000 tons of saturated fat from the British diet. The core challenge in the transition to healthier oils across our global portfolio is a limited supply and relatively higher costs.

In the next two years, we’ll have reduced sodium by up to 25% in core potato chip/crisp brands like Walkers and Lay’s in key regions. Today, we have reduced sodium levels by between 25%-55% across our Walkers’ portfolio and between 2005-2008, our UK business has removed 2,400 tons of salt from British diet. In Asia and the Middle East, we’re using mixtures of mineral salts and/or spices to enhance flavors and reduce sodium.

We’re also developing innovative solutions to reduce added sugars to our beverages. We are the first major company to introduce a zero-calorie, all natural sweetener derived from the stevia plant. SoBe Life Water continues to be a winner in the marketplace. In the U.S., Tropicana’s Trop 50 now available with 50% less sugar and calories and Quaker Lower Sugar Instant Oatmeal contains 50% less sugar than regular instant oatmeal.  With the significant investment on going in our long term research and physiology, we hope to boost our pipeline of ingredient options as we transform our portfolio of products.  This is truly an exciting time to be at PepsiCo as we look to grow our company and positively contribute to the wellness of our consumers.  This is Performance with Purpose.

As you can see, PepsiCo is working hard to improve the nutritional profile of our products.  And, we’re not finished by any means.  In the months ahead, I’ll be sharing news of even more innovation in the global marketplace.

PepsiCo has made steady progress in addressing the issues surrounding obesity by continual enhancement of our portfolio. There are many examples of this including the introduction of new products that offer improved nutrition. We continue to reduce portion sizes and reformulate some of our existing products to reduce calories, fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar. In fact, over the time period from 2003 to 2008, total US beverage 8oz servings increased 7.2%, and total US beverage 8oz caloric intake decreased by 5.2%. Essentially, this means that total calories per average 8oz serving of US beverages are down 11.6%. In addition, we are expanding and strengthening our expertise to include physicians, nutritionists, scientists, public health experts, policy analysts and advocates to enable breakthrough innovation that can effectively address obesity and other serious diseases affected by overall diet and lifestyle.

Globally, Indra joined the CEOs of seven other major food and beverage companies in May 2008 in committing to WHO Director-General Margaret Chan to take specific steps in support of the 2004 WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. We are making tangible progress in explicitly addressing our commitments, some of which focus on obesity. These include new approaches to addressing marketing to children worldwide; promoting physical activity in many countries, including Mexico (through the PepsiCo creation of Vive Saludable) and the US (through a partnership with the YMCA); beginning to tackle chronic malnutrition in India, South Africa and Nigeria through a UN commitment supporting MDG1; and, finally, through our own PepsiCo Foundation, supporting community-based research aimed at developing evidence-based solutions to chronic disease prevention in the USA, UK, Mexico, India and China (Tufts University’s program ‘Shape Up Somerville’ being one such example).

There is much that still needs to be done. Obesity remains the only major public health problem for which we have no example of a sustained decline in any large population anywhere. That alone suggests we need a new and innovative plan of action to enable more sustainable partnerships that would draw upon all of our unique capabilities and expertise. In the June 2008 Pacific Health Summit meetings on nutrition, Dr. Margaret Chan (WHO D-G), Tachi Yamada (Gates Foundation), Ann Veneman (UNICEF) and Sir William Castell (Wellcome Trust) echoed recent calls by Director of NIH Dr. E. Zahouni for private-public partnerships to address global nutrition challenges. PepsiCo is committed and already engaged in such partnerships and we are confident that they will yield outcomes of benefit to health. Sustained progress requires that we build a firmer basis for private-public collaboration. Only through new and innovative partnerships can we make a difference.

For those one billion individuals however, the consequences of dismissal are enormous and range from diminished intellectual development of children to reduced economic productivity of communities and nations. Those most affected are very young, often rural, very often women and typically marginalized in society.  They lack the energy to organize for themselves. They lack the voice to call for change or the power to mandate it.

Here’s the hard truth — one billion hungry people are relying on people like you and me to reach out and support efforts to address their most basic need for food. I for one am eager to help. I’m passionate about the issue and I feel incredibly proud that I work for an organization that is both willing and capable of making a real difference.

At PepsiCo we believe in “Performance with Purpose” – where improved health and nutrition is seen as a key to addressing the human dimension of purpose. As an operating philosophy, Performance with Purpose enables us to develop programs that make a real difference in the world, while at the same time delivering results for the business.

One such program is Asha.   Sanskrit for “hope,” Asha is PepsiCo’s multi-country effort to address the nutrition needs of the world’s poorest. Through the Asha program colleagues from across the company are exploring ways in which PepsiCo can deliver the greatest impact on global hunger. They’re donating their time and expertise in areas such as research, marketing, finance, procurement and distribution to find solutions for those in need in Dallas, the Nigerian countryside, Mumbai and everywhere in between.

Through the Asha program we’ve seen the start of serious debate about the need for new business models that will support such initiatives. We keep finding examples of product or processing research developed for high-end markets that have applications for the poorest consumers. For example, work on protein snacks for boomers could address a protein lack in many of the urban poor and better ways of fortifying iron could address one of the most intractable deficiencies we face.

We keep finding amazing partners in the communities and countries we seek to work who are pushing us to do more – these extend from Naandi in India who provide hundreds of thousands of meals to school kids; to the nutrition department of the South African government; and global players like GAIN and Synergos which actively work to provide real nutrition solutions.

Will we succeed in changing the face of global hunger? It is way too early to be certain. What my colleagues and I at PepsiCo are certain about it simple – when passions and expertise are channeled to address real problems, absolutely anything is possible.