The adherence of packaged food products in Hyderabad, India with nutritional labelling guidelines.

BACKGROUND: India is experiencing a nutrition transition with the consumption of processed foods rapidly increasing. Nutrition labels are essential if consumers are to understand the healthiness of these products. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India have recently introduced regulation defining national nutrition labelling requirements and Codex Alimentarius recommends a global standard. OBJECTIVES: To quantify the adherence of the declared nutrients on Indian packaged foods with national and global requirements. METHODS: The presence or absence of data for seven required nutrients was recorded for all food products available for sale. Branches of three major retail chains and three smaller stores in Hyderabad, India between October and November, 2010 were surveyed. RESULTS: Data were collected for 4166 packaged products that fell into 14 different food groups. 52% of products displayed nutrient information on energy, protein, carbohydrate, sugar and total fat, meeting the minimum requirements of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Only 27% met the minimum criteria defined by Codex which also requires the reporting of saturated fat and sodium. There was significant variation in compliance for leading brands, country of manufacture and food group (p<0.01 for all). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of Indian packaged foods do not meet national and international nutrient labelling guidelines. With the Indian population likely to consume much more packaged food over coming years full and effective food labelling will be essential. The failure of Indian legislation to require labelling of sodium and saturated fat may warrant review.

Salt reduction initiatives around the world.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of national salt reduction initiatives around the world, describe core characteristics and develop a framework for future strategy development. METHODS: National strategies were identified from existing reviews and from searches of the literature and relevant websites. Standardized information was extracted about governance and strategy development, baseline assessments and monitoring and implementation. RESULTS: Thirty-two country salt reduction initiatives were identified. The majority of activity was in Europe (19 countries). Most countries (27) had maximum population salt intake targets, ranging from 5 to 8 g/person per day. Twenty-six of the 32 strategies were led by government, five by nongovernment organizations and one by industry. Twenty-eight countries had some baseline data on salt consumption and 18 had data on sodium levels in foods. Twenty-eight countries were working with the food industry to reduce salt in foods, 10 had front-of-pack labelling schemes and 28 had consumer awareness or behaviour change programs. Five countries had demonstrated an impact, either on population salt consumption, salt levels in foods or consumer awareness. These strategies were led by government and were multifaceted including food reformulation, consumer awareness initiatives and labelling actions. CONCLUSION: This is the first review to concisely summarize the most important elements of the many existing salt reduction programmes and highlight the characteristics most likely to be important to programme efficacy. For most countries, implementing a national salt reduction programme is likely to be one of simplest and most cost-effective ways of improving public health.

Sodium content of processed foods in the United Kingdom: analysis of 44,000 foods purchased by 21,000 households.

BACKGROUND: In the United Kingdom, sodium reduction targets have been set for a large number of processed food categories. Assessment and monitoring are essential to evaluate progress. OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to determine whether household consumer panel food-purchasing data could be used to assess the sodium content of processed foods. Our further objectives were to estimate the mean sodium content of UK foods by category and undertake analyses weighted by food-purchasing volumes. DESIGN: Data were obtained for 21,108 British households between October 2008 and September 2009. Purchasing data (product description, product weight, annual purchases) and sodium values (mg/100 g) were collated for all food categories known to be major contributors to sodium intake. Unweighted and weighted mean sodium values were calculated. RESULTS: Data were available for 44,372 food products. The largest contributors to sodium purchases were table salt (23%), processed meat (18%), bread and bakery products (13%), dairy products (12%), and sauces and spreads (11%). More than one-third of sodium purchased (37%) was accounted for by 5 food categories: bacon, bread, milk, cheese, and sauces. For some food groups (bread and bakery, cereals and cereal products, processed meat), purchase-weighted means were 18-35% higher than unweighted means, suggesting that market leaders have higher sodium contents than the category mean. CONCLUSION: The targeting of sodium reduction in a small number of food categories and focusing on products sold in the highest volumes could lead to large decreases in sodium available for consumption and therefore to gains in public health.

Consumer awareness and self-reported behaviours related to salt consumption in Australia.

Australians are eating far more salt than is good for health. In May 2007, the Australian Division of World Action on Salt and Health (AWASH) launched a campaign to reduce population salt intake. A consumer survey was commissioned to quantify baseline aspects of awareness and behaviour related to salt and health amongst Australians. A total of 1084 individuals aged 14 years or over were surveyed by ACA Research using an established consumer panel. Participants were selected to include people of each sex, within different age bands, from major metropolitan and other areas of all Australian states and territories. Participants were invited via email to complete a brief questionnaire online. Two-thirds knew that salt was bad for health but only 14% knew the recommended maximum daily intake. Seventy percent correctly identified that most dietary salt comes from processed foods but only a quarter regularly checked food labels for salt content. Even fewer reported their food purchases were influenced by the salt level indicated (21%). The survey showed a moderate understanding of how salt effects health but there was little evidence of action to reduce salt intake. Consumer education will be one part of the effort necessary to reduce salt intake in Australia and will require government investment in a targeted campaign to achieve improvements in knowledge and behaviours.

A systematic survey of the sodium contents of processed foods.

BACKGROUND: Processed foods are major contributors to population dietary salt intake. Parts of the Australian food industry have started to decrease salt in a number of products. A definitive baseline assessment of current sodium concentrations in foods is key to targeting reformulation strategies and monitoring progress. OBJECTIVES: Our objectives were to systematically collate data on the sodium content of Australian processed food products and compare sodium values against maximum target levels established by the UK Food Standards Agency (UK FSA). DESIGN: Categories of processed foods that contribute the majority of salt to Australian diets were identified. Food-composition data were sought for all products in these categories, and the sodium content in mg/100 g (or mg/100 mL for liquids) was recorded for each. Mean sodium values were calculated for each grouping and compared with the UK FSA benchmarks. RESULTS: Sodium data were collected for 7221 products in 10 food groups, 33 food categories, and 90 food subcategories. The food groups that were highest in sodium were sauces and spreads (1283 mg/100 g) and processed meats (846 mg/100 g). Cereal and cereal products (206 mg/100 g) and fruit and vegetables (211 mg/100 g) were the lowest in sodium. Sixty-three percent of food categories had mean sodium concentrations above the UK FSA targets, and most had wide ranges between the most and least salty product. CONCLUSIONS: Many products, particularly breads, processed meats, and sauces, have salt amounts above reasonable benchmarks. The variation in salt concentrations between comparable products suggests that reformulation is highly feasible for many foods.