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      The Sodium Content of Processed Foods in South Africa during the Introduction of Mandatory Sodium Limits

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          Abstract

          Background: In June 2016, the Republic of South Africa introduced legislation for mandatory limits for the upper sodium content permitted in a wide range of processed foods. We assessed the sodium levels of packaged foods in South Africa during the one-year period leading up to the mandatory implementation date of the legislation. Methods: Data on the nutritional composition of packaged foods was obtained from nutrition information panels on food labels through both in-store surveys and crowdsourcing by users of the HealthyFood Switch mobile phone app between June 2015 and August 2016. Summary sodium levels were calculated for 15 food categories, including the 13 categories covered by the sodium legislation. The percentage of foods that met the government’s 2016 sodium limits was also calculated. Results: 11,065 processed food items were included in the analyses; 1851 of these were subject to the sodium legislation. Overall, 67% of targeted foods had a sodium level at or below the legislated limit. Categories with the lowest percentage of foods that met legislated limits were bread (27%), potato crisps (41%), salt and vinegar flavoured snacks (42%), and raw processed sausages (45%). About half (49%) of targeted foods not meeting the legislated limits were less than 25% above the maximum sodium level. Conclusion: Sodium levels in two-thirds of foods covered by the South African sodium legislation were at or below the permitted upper levels at the mandatory implementation date of the legislation and many more were close to the limit. The South African food industry has an excellent opportunity to rapidly meet the legislated requirements.

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          International collaborative project to compare and monitor the nutritional composition of processed foods.

          Chronic diseases are the leading cause of premature death and disability in the world with overnutrition a primary cause of diet-related ill health. Excess energy intake, saturated fat, sugar, and salt derived from processed foods are a major cause of disease burden. Our objective is to compare the nutritional composition of processed foods between countries, between food companies, and over time. Surveys of processed foods will be done in each participating country using a standardized methodology. Information on the nutrient composition for each product will be sought either through direct chemical analysis, from the product label, or from the manufacturer. Foods will be categorized into 14 groups and 45 categories for the primary analyses which will compare mean levels of nutrients at baseline and over time. Initial commitments to collaboration have been obtained from 21 countries. This collaborative approach to the collation and sharing of data will enable objective and transparent tracking of processed food composition around the world. The information collected will support government and food industry efforts to improve the nutrient composition of processed foods around the world.
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            Target Salt 2025: A Global Overview of National Programs to Encourage the Food Industry to Reduce Salt in Foods

            Reducing population salt intake has been identified as a priority intervention to reduce non-communicable diseases. Member States of the World Health Organization have agreed to a global target of a 30% reduction in salt intake by 2025. In countries where most salt consumed is from processed foods, programs to engage the food industry to reduce salt in products are being developed. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of national initiatives to encourage the food industry to reduce salt. A systematic review of the literature was supplemented by key informant questionnaires to inform categorization of the initiatives. Fifty nine food industry salt reduction programs were identified. Thirty eight countries had targets for salt levels in foods and nine countries had introduced legislation for some products. South Africa and Argentina have both introduced legislation limiting salt levels across a broad range of foods. Seventeen countries reported reductions in salt levels in foods—the majority in bread. While these trends represent progress, many countries have yet to initiate work in this area, others are at early stages of implementation and further monitoring is required to assess progress towards achieving the global target.
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              Guideline: sodium intake for adults and children

              (2012)
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Nutrients
                Nutrients
                nutrients
                Nutrients
                MDPI
                2072-6643
                20 April 2017
                April 2017
                : 9
                : 4
                : 404
                Affiliations
                [1 ]The George Institute for Global Health, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QX, UK; markw@ 123456georgeinstitute.org.au
                [2 ]Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, USA; edunford@ 123456georgeinstitute.org.au
                [3 ]The George Institute for Global Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia; jwebster@ 123456georgeinstitute.org.au (J.W.); bneal@ 123456georgeinstitute.org.au (B.N.)
                [4 ]Hypertension in Africa Research Team, North West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa; lisa.ware@ 123456nwu.ac.za
                [5 ]Discovery Vitality, Sandton 2146, South Africa; terryh@ 123456discovery.co.za (T.H.); adelewa@ 123456discovery.co.za (A.W.)
                [6 ]Center of Excellence for Nutrition, North West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa; 13009494@ 123456nwu.ac.za (M.W.); tertia.vanzyl@ 123456nwu.ac.za (T.v.Z.); biancaswanepoel.nwu@ 123456gmail.com (B.S.)
                [7 ]School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia; karenc@ 123456uow.edu.au
                [8 ]Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
                [9 ]The Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
                [10 ]Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia
                [11 ]Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
                Author notes
                [* ]Correspondence: sanne.peters@ 123456georgeinstitute.ox.ac.uk ; Tel.: +44-1865-617-200; Fax: +44-1865-617-202
                Article
                nutrients-09-00404
                10.3390/nu9040404
                5409743
                28425938
                26a3dca2-c0ae-4c35-afe8-69e6b9a1df00
                © 2017 by the authors.

                Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

                History
                : 09 March 2017
                : 17 April 2017
                Categories
                Article

                Nutrition & Dietetics
                salt intake,sodium legislation,south africa,packaged food,nutritional composition

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