The presence of sodium content and sodium-containing food additives in packaged foods and beverages sold in Turkey

Excess sodium (Na) intake is a significant leading cause of the development of non-communicable diseases. However, there is no scientific evidence on Na content (and its variation) in packaged products sold in Turkey. This study aimed to determine Na levels and Na-containing food additives of packaged products that are available in supermarkets across Turkey in 2020 in addition to evaluating the proportion of foods that comply with the World Health Organization global Na benchmark targets (2021). Of the 2975 packaged products analyzed, 60.3 % of products contained salt and 53.5 % of them contained a Na-containing food additive. A total of 31.8 % of products were classified as having a high Na content and the highest median Na levels were among the soy sauces and fish sauce group (4280 mg/100 g or ml; followed by olive group (2160 mg/100 g or ml), and soft to medium ripened cheese group (1880 mg/100 g or ml). The most used Na-containing food additive was sodium carboxymethyl cellulose. New regulations can be developed for the reformulation of packaged products containing high Na content and the progress of reducing Na intake of the population and improved health outcomes can be monitored over time.

Automated summary

This study investigated the sodium levels and sodium-containing food additives in packaged products sold in supermarkets across Turkey in 2020. It found that over one-third of the products had high sodium content, with soy sauce, fish sauce, olive, and cheese groups having the highest sodium levels.