KFC has launched a national initiative in support of World Salt Awareness Week, and it encourages Australians to reduce their salt intake when they visit the chicken chain’s restaurants and drive-thru outlets.

From 10 to 16 March KFC staff will wear special uniforms to promote the cause, including a t-shirt that reads “ask me for unsalted chips!”

According to KFC Australia’s chief food innovation and technology officer, Fritz Meyer the company invested a significant amount of time and research into developing the initiative.

“KFC is committed to helping our customers reduce their salt intake; we have conducted a number of trials in-store to determine the best way to communicate and engage customers about their salt intake and we’re very proud to launch during Salt Awareness Week,” he said. 

The Australian Division of World Action on Salt and Health (AWASH) applauded KFC for its proactive approach to the campaign.

“It’s great to see KFC getting on board with Salt Awareness Week. Having consumers understand the health risks associated with eating too much salt is a vital step. We hope other companies in the sector will follow this lead,” said Professor Bruce Neal, chair of AWASH and senior director at The George Institute for Global Health.

KFC has worked to reduce the salt content of a number of its products in recent years. In 2010 an average of 15 percent of sodium was removed from its core chicken menu items, and the salt content of its seasoned chip salt was reduced by 21 percent.

In 2011 the sodium content of KFC’s burger buns was reduced by 30 percent, and by 37 percent in its dinner rolls.

In addition, KFC is in the process of reducing the sodium content of its tortillas, bacon and chicken products.

“Since 2010, we have been on a journey to improve the nutritional profile of our menu proactively, implementing a salt reduction strategy to provide our customers with more choice and more nutritional menu options,” said Meyer.  

He added this latest initiative is another example of how the customer is at the forefront at KFC.

“We remain committed to working with industry and investing in nutrition initiatives to provide our customers with freshly prepared, great tasting food, delivered to the highest standard. This is just one example of how we’re changing our menu to provide more choices and more nutritional options.”