Monitoring Sodium Content in Processed and Ultraprocessed Foods in Argentina 2022: Compliance with National Legislation and Regional Targets

Overview

Journal Public Health Nutr

Publisher Cambridge University Press

Date 2024 Oct 2

PMID 39354662

Authors

Leila Guarnieri

Luciana Castronuovo

Nadia Flexner

Yahan Yang

Mary R LAbbe

Victoria Tiscornia

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the current Na levels in a variety of processed food groups and categories available in the Argentinean market to monitor compliance with the National Law and to compare the current Na content levels with the updated Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) regional targets.

Design: Observational cross-sectional study.

Setting And Participants:

Results: We surveyed 3997 food products, and the Na content of 760 and 2511 of them was compared with the maximum levels according to the Argentinean law and the regional targets, respectively. All food categories presented high variability of Na content. More than 90 % of the products included in the National Sodium Reduction Law were found to be compliant. Food groups with high median Na, such as meat and fish condiments, leavening flour and appetisers are not included in the National Law. In turn, comparisons with PAHO regional targets indicated that more than 50 % of the products were found to exceed the regional targets for Na.

Conclusions: This evidence suggests that it is imperative to update the National Sodium Reduction Law based on regional public health standards, adding new food groups and setting more stringent legal targets.

References

Ahmed M, Schermel A, Lee J, Weippert M, Franco-Arellano B, LAbbe M . Development of the Food Label Information Program: A Comprehensive Canadian Branded Food Composition Database. Front Nutr. 2022; 8:825050. PMC: 8852278. DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2021.825050. View

Konfino J, Mekonnen T, Coxson P, Ferrante D, Bibbins-Domingo K . Projected impact of a sodium consumption reduction initiative in Argentina: an analysis from the CVD policy model--Argentina. PLoS One. 2013; 8(9):e73824. PMC: 3767589. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0073824. View

Quintiliano Scarpelli D, Pinheiro Fernandes A, Rodriguez Osiac L, Pizarro Quevedo T . Changes in Nutrient Declaration after the Food Labeling and Advertising Law in Chile: A Longitudinal Approach. Nutrients. 2020; 12(8). PMC: 7468860. DOI: 10.3390/nu12082371. View

Asaria P, Chisholm D, Mathers C, Ezzati M, Beaglehole R . Chronic disease prevention: health effects and financial costs of strategies to reduce salt intake and control tobacco use. Lancet. 2007; 370(9604):2044-53. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61698-5. View

Reyes M, Smith Taillie L, Popkin B, Kanter R, Vandevijvere S, Corvalan C . Changes in the amount of nutrient of packaged foods and beverages after the initial implementation of the Chilean Law of Food Labelling and Advertising: A nonexperimental prospective study. PLoS Med. 2020; 17(7):e1003220. PMC: 7386631. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003220. View

Flexner N, Christoforou A, Bernstein J, Ng A, Yang Y, Fernandes Nilson E . Estimating Canadian sodium intakes and the health impact of meeting national and WHO recommended sodium intake levels: A macrosimulation modelling study. PLoS One. 2023; 18(5):e0284733. PMC: 10171671. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284733. View

Hope S, Webster J, Trieu K, Pillay A, Ieremia M, Bell C . A systematic review of economic evaluations of population-based sodium reduction interventions. PLoS One. 2017; 12(3):e0173600. PMC: 5371286. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0173600. View

Allemandi L, Tiscornia M, Ponce M, Castronuovo L, Dunford E, Schoj V . Sodium content in processed foods in Argentina: compliance with the national law. Cardiovasc Diagn Ther. 2015; 5(3):197-206. PMC: 4451319. DOI: 10.3978/j.issn.2223-3652.2015.04.01. View

Allemandi L, Tiscornia M, Guarnieri L, Castronuovo L, Martins E . Monitoring Sodium Content in Processed Foods in Argentina 2017-2018: Compliance with National Legislation and Regional Targets. Nutrients. 2019; 11(7). PMC: 6682874. DOI: 10.3390/nu11071474. View

10.

Bhat S, Marklund M, E Henry M, Appel L, Croft K, Neal B . A Systematic Review of the Sources of Dietary Salt Around the World. Adv Nutr. 2020; 11(3):677-686. PMC: 7231587. DOI: 10.1093/advances/nmz134. View

11.

He F, Tan M, Ma Y, MacGregor G . Salt Reduction to Prevent Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease: JACC State-of-the-Art Review. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2020; 75(6):632-647. DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2019.11.055. View

12.

Trieu K, Coyle D, Rosewarne E, Shahid M, Yamamoto R, Nishida C . Estimated Dietary and Health Impact of the World Health Organization's Global Sodium Benchmarks on Packaged Foods in Australia: a Modeling Study. Hypertension. 2023; 80(3):541-549. DOI: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.122.20105. View

13.

Beaglehole R, Bonita R, Horton R, Adams C, Alleyne G, Asaria P . Priority actions for the non-communicable disease crisis. Lancet. 2011; 377(9775):1438-47. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60393-0. View

14.

Aminde L, Takah N, Zapata-Diomedi B, Veerman J . Primary and secondary prevention interventions for cardiovascular disease in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review of economic evaluations. Cost Eff Resour Alloc. 2018; 16:22. PMC: 6003072. DOI: 10.1186/s12962-018-0108-9. View

15.

Nieto C, Tolentino-Mayo L, Medina C, Monterrubio-Flores E, Denova-Gutierrez E, Barquera S . Sodium Content of Processed Foods Available in the Mexican Market. Nutrients. 2018; 10(12). PMC: 6316842. DOI: 10.3390/nu10122008. View

16.

. Global burden of 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet. 2020; 396(10258):1223-1249. PMC: 7566194. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30752-2. View

17.

Santos J, Tekle D, Rosewarne E, Flexner N, Cobb L, Al-Jawaldeh A . A Systematic Review of Salt Reduction Initiatives Around the World: A Midterm Evaluation of Progress Towards the 2025 Global Non-Communicable Diseases Salt Reduction Target. Adv Nutr. 2021; 12(5):1768-1780. PMC: 8483946. DOI: 10.1093/advances/nmab008. View

18.

Elorriaga N, Gutierrez L, Romero I, Moyano D, Poggio R, Calandrelli M . Collecting Evidence to Inform Salt Reduction Policies in Argentina: Identifying Sources of Sodium Intake in Adults from a Population-Based Sample. Nutrients. 2017; 9(9). PMC: 5622724. DOI: 10.3390/nu9090964. View

19.

Ferrante D, Apro N, Ferreira V, Virgolini M, Aguilar V, Sosa M . Feasibility of salt reduction in processed foods in Argentina. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2011; 29(2):69-75. DOI: 10.1590/s1020-49892011000200001. View

20.

Carrillo-Larco R, Bernabe-Ortiz A . Sodium and Salt Consumption in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Systematic-Review and Meta-Analysis of Population-Based Studies and Surveys. Nutrients. 2020; 12(2). PMC: 7071427. DOI: 10.3390/nu12020556. View