[Press Release, July 14/Unofficial translation] MFDS and KCDC win the award for“reducing sodium intake”from World Hypertension League (WHL) - Internationally recognized for reducing sodium intake by one-third over the past eight years (2012~2019) - □ The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS, Minister Lee Eui-kyung) and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC, Director Jeong Eun-kyeong) announced that they jointly won the ‘WHL Organization Excellence Award’ from the World Hypertension League (WHL). ※ World Hypertension League (WHL): A non-profit, non-governmental international organization for the prevention and management of hypertension. Founded in 1983, 60 countries including Korea (Korean Society of Hypertension) have been participating in the league, and it is an official cooperative organization of the World Health Organization (WHO). ○ The WHL Excellence Award is one of the 10* categories of awards for individuals or institutions that have contributed to the prevention of high blood pressure by reducing sodium intake, and it is the first time that Korea has won the WHL award. * (The MFDS and the KCDC) Excellence Award in Dietary Salt Reduction, (Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre in Brazil) Excellence Award in Hypertension Clinical Research (the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba) Excellence Award in Hypertension Prevention and Control, and 7 other categories for individuals ○ Korea won this year's award because its efforts to meet the WHO’s 2013 resolution* to reduce sodium intake by 30 percent by 2025 was recognized internationally. * WHO General Assembly (in 2013) agreed to reduce sodium intake by 30 percent in each country by 2025. √ Reducing daily sodium intake by 1,150mg (salt 2.9 g) reduces patients requiring anti-hypertension therapy by 50 percent, stroke-caused deaths by 22 percent, and deaths caused by coronary artery disease by 16 percent (WHO, 2003) □ The MFDS established 'Comprehensive Measures for Sodium Reduction' in 2012 to reduce the sodium intake, and has since made the following efforts. ○ ▲Expansion of nutrition labeling including the information of sodium content, ▲designation of restaurants and catering service providers that operate menus containing less sodium and encouraging the industry to join the campaign, ▲education of eating habits to consume unsalty foods, and ▲spreading the culture of taking less sodium in cooperation with civil organizations like the “Low-sugar, Low-sodium Practice Headquarters” and the “Eating Food Bland Study Group”. ○ As a result, the National Health and Nutrition Survey conducted by the KCDC found that the daily sodium intake per person decreased by about 30 percent from 4,831mg in 2010 to 3,274mg in 2018. ※ Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: The health statistics survey (based on Article 16 of the National Health Promotion Act), which draws more than 500 health indicators, including smoking, drinking, nutrition, and chronic diseases, was initiated in 1998 and conducted the survey on 10,000 people every year. ○ The MFDS plans to establish and implement the “Third Comprehensive Measures for Reducing Sodium Consumption (2021~2025),” which encourages voluntary participation by the private sector and strengthens education and promotion to further reduce sodium intake. □ "Koreans’ sodium intake is still 1.5 times higher than the WHO's recommendation of 2,000mg, which needs further efforts to reduce it," said the Minister of Food and Drug Safety, Lee Eui-kyung. ○ "We ask for active participation and efforts from food producers, distributors, sellers and nutritionists to create a social environment in which people eat blander food and enjoy a healthier life," she said.