Food and nutrition are the chosen theme for the universal exposition Expo 2015 to be held in Milan from 1 May to
31 October 2015. Switzerland’s contribution will be the pavilion entitled “Confooderatio Helvetica”. The display
will be easy to spot with its four towers full of typical Swiss specialities to which visitors are free to come and help themselves. How will it work? The platforms in the towers lower as the food depletes, changing the structure of the pavilion. The experiment will be tracked in real time on social media. The aim is to make visitors think about their own consumer behaviour and the interdependence of the food sector. After the Expo, the towers will be disassembled and reused as greenhouses for urban gardening.
The pavilion, developed by the government communications agency Presence Switzerland, is designed to illustrate the country’s positioning on sustainable development through its agriculture services. The Expo theme will stress the importance of healthy nutrition, supported by evidence and contributions from researchers, consumers and private companies. One of the pavilion towers will be filled with salt samples to raise visitors’ awareness about the strategy backed by Switzerland’s Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office to reduce salt consumption.

Excessive salt intake actually kills more than 1.6 million people worldwide every year.

According to a study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, excessive salt intake actually kills more than 1.6 million people worldwide every year. The study confirms that high sodium diets significantly increase blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular diseases and strokes. Researchers say that the world’s daily salt intake averaged 3.95 grams per person in 2010, nearly double the amount – 2 grams – recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Eating less salt would benefit many adults. Salt takes the worst toll on older people, people of African descent and anyone susceptible to hypertension.