Assessment of sodium levels in Portuguese supermarket foods: A global benchmark perspective

Abstract

This study aims to compare the sodium content of foods sold in a market-leading Portuguese food retail company with global Sodium Benchmarks (SB). The labelled salt content of foods sold in 2020 and 2021 was collected in-store using photographs, except for white-label brand products for which a database was provided. Descriptive statistics were used: the median, minimum, and maximum sodium content (mg/100 g), the percentage of products above the SB, and the percentual difference between median sodium content and the benchmark by subcategory. From the 4086 products, a total of 62.7% exceeded the benchmark. From the 64 subcategories, 46 subcategories showed a median sodium content higher than the SB. A total of 16 subcategories showed lower median sodium content than the SB. No difference was observed for two subcategories. The percentual difference between the median sodium content and the SB ranged from −96% for “Minimally processed breakfast cereals” and + 715% for “Processed fish/seafood products, non-heat-treated”. The results showed an excessive sodium content for most products. This study contributes to defining priority food groups regarding salt reformulation by performing a stratified analysis by subcategory.