The Science of Salt: A global review on changes in sodium levels in foods

Abstract

This review aims to summarize and synthesize studies reporting on changes in sodium levels in packaged food products, restaurant foods, and hospital or school meals, as a result of salt reduction interventions. Studies were extracted from those published in the Science of Salt Weekly between June 2013 and February 2018. Twenty‐four studies were identified: 17 assessed the changes in packaged foods, four in restaurant foods, two in hospital or school meals, and one in both packaged and restaurant foods. Three types of interventions were evaluated as part of the studies: voluntary reductions (including targets), labeling, and interventions in institutional settings. Decreases in sodium were observed in all studies (n = 8) that included the same packaged foods matched at two time points, and in the studies carried out in hospitals and schools. However, there was little to no change in mean sodium levels in restaurant foods. The pooled analysis of change in sodium levels in packaged foods showed a decrease in sodium in unmatched food products (−36 mg/100 g, 95% CI −51 to −20 mg/100 g) and in five food categories—breakfast cereals, breads, processed meats, crisps and snacks, and soups. Twenty‐two of the 24 studies were from high‐income countries, limiting the applicability of the findings to lower resource settings.

The Equity and Effectiveness of Achieving Canada’s Voluntary Sodium Reduction Guidance Targets: A Modelling Study Using the 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey—Nutrition

“…As many as 38 countries have implemented sodium reformulation targets for foods as part of sodium reduction initiatives [6]. However, evidence from systematic reviews highlights poor monitoring and evaluation of sodium reformulation strategies, and insufficient information to assess differential impact of dietary sodium reduction interventions across socioeconomic factors as barrier to fully understanding their potential to reduce population sodium intake [5,7].…”

Population-based Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Measures Aimed at Reducing Salt Intake: Analysis of International Strategies and Prospects for Implementation in the Russian Federation

“…По данным индийских исследователей, в стране увеличилось содержание соли за период с 2010 по 2014 гг. в некоторых категориях продуктов, например, в зерновых завтраках, молочных продуктах и соусах [20]. Кроме того, задачей мониторинга является анализ межстрановых различий в количестве соли в готовых продуктах.…”

“…Об эффективности ряда программ по снижению соли в готовых продуктах в Австралии, США, Новой Зеландии говорит анализ J.A. Santos [20]. Однако в сфере ресторанного питания все не так однозначно -количество соли в продукции восьми наиболее крупных сетевых ресторанов фастфуда США значимо возросло в последние годы, тогда как в Канаде, Австралии наблюдается снижение содержания соли в аналогичных продуктах.…”

“…Однако в сфере ресторанного питания все не так однозначно -количество соли в продукции восьми наиболее крупных сетевых ресторанов фастфуда США значимо возросло в последние годы, тогда как в Канаде, Австралии наблюдается снижение содержания соли в аналогичных продуктах. Отдельно стоит отметить программу Healthy Hospital Food Initiative (HHFI), благодаря которой отмечено снижение соли в больничном рационе США [20].…”

Urinary Sodium Excretion and Blood Pressure Relationship across Methods of Evaluating the Completeness of 24-h Urine Collections

“…High-quality epidemiological studies and systematic reviews show strong evidence that high sodium intake causes high BP and there is moderately strong evidence from clinical trials for causing cardiovascular diseases [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. In general, the current diets of populations across the globe contain much higher than recommended sodium [ 7 , 8 ]. Long-term reduction in sodium intake is one of the most cost-effective strategies to reduce blood pressure and cardiovascular disease [ 9 ].…”