Barbara Gill, Chair, National Federation of Women's Institutes

'The WI is delighted to support this important campaign by the Food Standards Agency. Too many people understand too little about the relationship between salt and health.

'We hope that as a consequence of this campaign, that better information for consumers and responsible action by manufacturers will lead to significant reductions in salt consumption.'

Professor Carol Black, President, Royal College of Physicians (RCP)

'The Royal College of Physicians welcomes the Food Standards Agency's public health campaign to raise awareness of the risks of too much salt.

'The experience of doctors bears out the research conducted by the FSA for this campaign: that many people do not appreciate the link between excessive salt in diet and high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

'People need to receive clear advice about salt and associated health risks to enable them to make appropriate changes to their own salt intake for their future health. The RCP wholeheartedly supports this initiative.'

Jon Barrick, Chief Executive, Stroke Association

'The more salt we eat, the more our blood pressure rises. More than 50,000 deaths from stroke in the UK each year are attributable to high blood pressure and it is the most modifiable risk factor for stroke.

'The Stroke Association welcomes any campaign to raise awareness of salt consumption and its effect on vascular disease and therefore fully supports the Food Standards Agency's salt awareness campaign.'

Paul Lincoln, Chief Executive, National Heart Forum

'Reducing salt in the diet is one of those rare phenomena in public health - a magic bullet that will benefit the whole population very quickly.

'We wholeheartedly support the FSA's campaign, which is key to the range of salt reduction strategies that the government is committed to.'

Professor Graham MacGregor, Chairman, Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH)

'On behalf of CASH, I would like to strongly support the launch of this campaign by the Food Standards Agency.

'Reducing salt intake will lower blood pressure and will save thousands of people dying or suffering from strokes, heart attacks and heart failure.

'Indeed, if successful, it will result in the biggest improvement in public health since the introduction of clean water and drains into the UK in the late 19th century.'

Andy Burman, Chief Executive, British Dietetic Association (BDA)

'The British Dietetic Association welcomes the FSA's campaign as part of the overall salt reduction strategy to improve public health, which will raise awareness of the risks associated with high salt consumption.

'Dieticians have a pivotal role to play in enabling the public to understand the place of salt in the diet and how to practically make changes to reduce their intake.'

Deirdre Hutton, Chair, National Consumer Council

'The FSA's determination to raise public awareness of the dangers of eating too much salt is timely and an important step towards improving the nation's health.

'On average we eat more than one and a half times more salt each day than is good for us - 9.5g instead of the recommended 6g (about 1 teaspoon).

'It's staggering that 75% of it is hidden in processed food, including some less obvious culprits such as breakfast cereals, biscuits, tinned vegetables and even bread.

'Often its identity is disguised on the label as sodium.

'We are glad that the FSA recognises that an awareness campaign, on its own, cannot change diets. Their emphasis on working with the industry to reduce the salt content of processed foods is vital, particularly now that more hectic lifestyles mean a growing reliance on convenience and other fast food.

'We urge the industry to adopt a common "traffic light" labelling system, alerting consumers to foods that are high in either salt, fat or sugar, so making healthy choices easy.'

Joint statement: British Retail Consortium, Food and Drink Federation, British Hospitality Association, National Farmers' Union, and others*

'Consumers do need to be made more aware of the link between high salt intake and increased blood pressure which is why we welcome the FSA high-profile campaign to raise public awareness around salt and health with the provision of information to help consumers reduce their intake.

'We support the need for this concerted action to reduce salt intake in line with the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) recommendation of an average population intake of 6g per day by 2010.

'As caterers, manufacturers and retailers we have taken steps to reduce salt in processed foods and in food service over several years and our commitment to working in partnership with the FSA will continue.'

* Asda
Burger King
The Co-op
Iceland
Sainsbury's
Marks and Spencer
Spar
Tesco
Waitrose

Joint leaflet The Agency has published a joint leaflet with the British Heart Foundation to mark the launch of the salt campaign. The leaflet includes advice on reading labels and cooking tips.