Ajinomoto Group Indonesian affiliate holds webinar on health benefits of reducing salt intake

Working to support public health during the pandemic, PT AJINOMOTO INDONESIA held a webinar October 8, 2020 in collaboration with INAVIGA INDONESIA entitled “Salt Reduction to Reduce the Risk of Hypertension.” In the webinar, health benefits of umami seasonings and monosodium glutamate were highlighted.

The webinar featured a presentation by Dr. Ir. Ahmad Sulaeman, a Professor of Food Safety & Nutrition at the Faculty of Human Ecology, IPB University, and participants included some 190 nutrition experts and dietitians. Indonesians are increasingly concerned about hypertension and other diseases that affect the immune system, as they can affect recovery from COVID-19. PT AJINOMOTO INDONESIA offered the webinar as part of its engagement in helping share information about healthy diet and lifestyles as a contribution to Indonesian society.

Professor Sulaeman discussed various ways of reducing the risk of hypertension, including regular exercise, avoiding smoking and drinking, and healthy eating. He also talked about reducing salt intake. “We can replace salt with umami seasoning such as MSG, which brings out the full flavor of foods,” he said. “The sodium content in MSG is only 1/3 of the sodium content in table salt, and many studies have shown that the use of MSG helps reduce salt intake while maintaining food palatability,” he continued. “The fact that MSG has been certified as halal, and approved by the BPOM (Indonesian Food & Drug agency) also confirms that when used as recommended MSG is very safe.”

Ayako Suzuki, Public Relations Department Manager for PT AJINOMOTO INDONESIA noted that more webinars are planned featuring presentations on topics of interest around healthy lifestyles and balanced nutritional intake, of increased importance during the pandemic.