Multi-Stakeholder Working Group on Dietary Sodium Reduction (Sodium Working Group, SWG)

February 24-26, 2010, Ottawa, On

Summary Report of the Meeting

SWG members met on February 24, 25 and 26, 2010.

The main meeting objectives were to:

• Discuss and refine an advanced draft of the Working Group's Strategy Report.
• Reach consensus on a complete set of recommendations.
• Discuss the Strategy's cost implications.
• Confirm the critical path leading up to the launch of the Strategy Report, in the summer of 2010.
• Discuss the role for the Sodium Working Group in guiding, monitoring and reporting on the Strategy's implementation.

Key Outcomes

Strategy Report

Working Group members closely reviewed each section of the Strategy Report and offered their comments on the revised draft. The Report will be refined based on the discussions.

Recommendations

Members engaged in a thorough discussion of each draft recommendation, with a focus on those that did not yet have the support of all members, and achieved substantial consensus around a complete set of recommendations for inclusion in the Report. The group also addressed the issue of accountability for implementing each one.

Cost Implications

The SWG agreed that implementing the Report's recommendations will require a firm commitment of resources from governments, industry and the non-government sector. They discussed the inclusion of an implementation cost estimate in the report itself, and committed to presenting a more detailed cost breakdown in the Progress Report that will follow the Strategy.

Members agreed that, while the up-front investment will be significant, the opportunities to avoid downstream costs are considerable and significantly outweigh the immediate investment. They further agreed that, where possible, implementation should leverage complementary initiatives that are already underway.

Critical Path

Members reviewed the Strategy Report Critical Path to confirm that the Report's development remains on track for its release in summer 2010.

Future of the SWG

Members recommended that Health Canada consider an ongoing monitoring and reporting role for the SWG following the release of the Strategy Report. They agreed that the Working Group's future, including its reporting mechanism, should be revisited as the focus shifts to Strategy implementation.

Key Messages

Members agreed to a list of key messages about the three-day meeting to be used for communication purposes, as follows:

• The SWG has achieved substantial consensus on a complete set of recommendations.
• The SWG is coming forward with a comprehensive strategy and Progress Report, which will include costing information.
• The SWG has mapped out a process to assess the costs and realize the benefits of the Strategy as it relates to burden of disease.
• While the SWG recognizes that the investment associated with implementation of the Strategy will be significant, the expense will be vastly outweighed by the benefits and opportunities for cost avoidance and reallocation of resources currently dedicated to acute and long-term care.
• The SWG is developing a framework for monitoring and evaluation.
• Health Canada is making progress on sodium reduction targets in consultation with the food industry. A partial list of proposed draft targets is now available on the Health Canada website.
• The SWG is now finalizing the Strategy Report document, for release in the summer of 2010.
• The SWG has also begun discussion of its role in the Strategy's implementation.