Sodium Levels in Packaged Foods Sold in 14 Latin American and Caribbean Countries: A Food Label Analysis

Abstract

Population-wide sodium reduction is a cost-effective approach to address the adverse health effects associated with excess sodium consumption. Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries consume excess dietary sodium. Packaged foods are a major contributor to sodium intake and a target for sodium reduction interventions. This study examined sodium levels in 12 categories of packaged foods sold in 14 LAC (n = 16,357). Mean sodium levels and percentiles were examined. Sodium levels were compared to regional sodium reduction targets. In this baseline analysis, 82% of foods met the regional target and 47% met the lower target. The greatest proportion of products meeting the regional target were uncooked pasta and noodles (98%), flavored cookies/crackers (97%), seasonings for sides/main dishes (96%), mayonnaise (94%), and cured/preserved meats (91%). A large proportion of foods met the lower target among uncooked pasta and noodles (88%), cooked pasta and noodles (88%), and meat/fish seasonings (88%). The highest the highest median sodium levels were among condiments (7778 mg/100 g), processed meats (870 mg/100 g), mayonnaise (755 mg/100 g), bread products (458 mg/100 g), cheese (643 mg/100 g), and snack foods (625 mg/100 g). These baseline data suggest that sodium reduction targets may need to be more stringent to enable effective lowering of sodium intake.

Monitoring Sodium Content in Processed Foods in Argentina 2017–2018: Compliance with National Legislation and Regional Targets

“…This suggests that, by the time both new regulations are fully in force (March–August 2020), the lower sodium targets will still not have been met by almost half of all products included in the affected categories. Moreover, the results obtained when comparing the sodium content in Argentinean products with the regional sodium targets are very similar to those obtained by a regional study, in which 82% and 47% of food products from 14 LAC countries (including Argentina) were found to meet the regional and lower targets, respectively [30].…”

An Evaluation of the Sodium Content and Compliance with the National Sodium Reduction Targets among Packaged Foods Sold in Costa Rica in 2015 and 2018

“…The results obtained are consistent with those of other countries, whether the sodium reduction targets were voluntary or mandatory [17,35,43,44,45,46]. For example, in Argentina, several food categories had a high proportion of products below the voluntary and mandatory targets in 2011 and 2014, respectively [35].…”

“…Moreover, the 2015 baseline study performed in fourteen countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, including Costa Rica, met an 82% general compliance with the regional targets. Costa Rica stands out for submitting one of the lowest proportions of food (77%) that met regional targets [46].…”

Sodium and Salt Consumption in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Systematic-Review and Meta-Analysis of Population-Based Studies and Surveys

“…Although largely speculative, this could suggest that policies and population-wide interventions to reduce salt consumption may be showing positive results. Among others, these include food labeling and setting limits for certain foods (e.g., bread) [28,29]. A thorough evaluation of policies to reduce sodium/salt consumption in Latin America and the Caribbean is warranted.…”