Nomad Foods employs a Salt Reduction Strategy, which aims to ensure responsible salt levels by both assessing the salt content of their products in line with external targets, strict internal guidelines and national competitor set’ salt levels and by implementing salt reduction projects to improve nutrient profiles and, subsequently, front-of-pack nutrition labels.
Approach
One area of impact was across their healthy coated fish portfolio, such as iglo and Findus Fish Nuggets, which is widely consumed by families and children. As fish is one of Nomad Foods’ major product segments, focus was placed on this category and the impact a change in Nutri-Score would have on consumers. Reducing salt in their fish products would contribute to lowering salt intakes.
Six fish products were identified for nutritional improvement, with salt reduction as a key lever. The renovation focused on reducing salt in one of the coating systems without compromising taste or texture. This would result in an improved nutrient profile and a lower-salt product, with the same sensory experience that consumers love. The renovation work successfully took place in 2024, with all reduced salt products available on shelves by Q1 2025.
Method
Fish product development experts investigated the sources of salt in the products and identified reduction approaches, taking into consideration technical feasibility and sensory impact. In some cases, only a small recipe change was needed; in others, ingredients had to be reworked by suppliers and tested for processability on manufacturing lines.
Extensive sensory testing—including expert blind tastings— across the renovation project confirmed no noticeable differences between original and reduced-salt versions. This gave confidence that consumers would not detect the change, and no complaints were anticipated.
Impact
Six products were initially targeted but because the salt reduction was delivered via a coating used across multiple products, the impact extended to 45 fish products across Nomad Foods, with salt reductions ranging from 3.5% to 25%.
One of the most improved products was Fish Nuggets. The product originally contained 1.0 g salt/100 g, which was reduced to 0.77 g salt/100 g – a 23% reduction. This resulted in an estimated 2.2 tonnes of salt being removed from iglo and Findus Fish Nuggets in 2025 across 10 countries in Europe, and a further 0.6 tonnes being removed across the UK. That’s the equivalent of five polar bears in salt weight!
