Comparison of Sodium Values for Selected Processed Foods and Baked Products

Abstract

Concerted efforts are being made to reduce the amount of sodium in our food supply. These efforts especially affect processed foods and baked products. The USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL) reports nutrient data for many of these foods in the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR). NDL is tracking data trends in sodium and other nutrients of public health concern.Major contributors of sodiumwere analyzedprior to 2005 and more recently in 2010 and 2011 through theNational Food andNutrient Analysis Program (NFNAP). Items include frozen bean and cheese burritos, canned chili con carne with beans, and canned pasta with sauce, among others. A limited sampling of burritos analyzed in 1999 showed a value of 412 mg/100 g of sodium in the product; data from 2010 show a reduction to 351 5.5 mg/100 g of sodium. Chili con carne with beans showed a slight but insignificant increase with initial data in 1997 at 424 mg/100 g compared to a 2010 value of 449 6.5 mg. Canned pasta with sauce shows a significant (p .05) decrease in sodium levels from 344 7.8 mg/100g to 272 17.2 mg/100 g of sodium. Some of these differences reflect different brands used in analysis. While it is still too early to gain a full picture of the trends in sodium values, these preliminary values show a reduction in some areas. Nutrient values in the SR were updated in 2010-2011 to reflect new data.