Korea to Develop Healthier Kimchi on Par With Global Trends

Daesang FNF stated it would reduce the salinity rate to 1.6 grammes of salt for every 100 grammes of kimchi next year, compared to an average 2.0 grammes currently and 2.5 grammes over 20 years ago.

The government has been working to globalise Korean food including kimchi.

”In order for kimchi to appeal to foreigners as a healthy food, it is necessary to lower the level of salt,” stated a spokeswoman for Daesang FNF.

”The amount of sodium will differ but the taste will be the same as the original flavour.”

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that Koreans consume more than double the World Health Organisation’s recommended daily intake of salt, putting them at risk of ailments such as hypertension.

The Korea Food and Drug Administration is working to cut the sodium rate in food but kimchi is not a priority.

”Although kimchi can be salty, it is not considered unhealthy,” an administration official told AFP. “The salty flavor is important, even though it shouldn’t be too much.”

The side dish has its own museum in Seoul and an annual festival, and was even blasted into space with the country’s first astronaut in 2008.

Source-AFP

This was posted on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 4:00 am and is filed under Diets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.