Snacks like fries and potato chips are among the worst offenders for sodium.
Consumers in the US are eating less sodium from packaged foods than they were in 2000, according to new research in the US.
Total sodium consumption fell by 16.75% between 2000 and 2014 – from 2,363mg a day to 1,967mg – while consumption of sodium from food fell 14.35% to 1,552mg. Consumers are advised not to eat more than 2,300mg of sodium per day.
Beverages also accounted for a lower proportion of consumers’ sodium intake, with consumers obtaining just 101mg of sodium from beverages each day.
The researchers – led by the University of North Carolina’s Jennifer Poti – said that ‘significant progress’ had been made towards cutting the amount of sodium US consumers obtain from packaged foods.
But with many consumers continuing to eat too much sodium for the calories that they consume, ‘continued efforts are needed to prevent excessive sodium intake’.
“Households are getting less sodium form the grocery store, but I think it’s important to know sodium in packaged foods is still way too high,” she said. “So we have a long way to go.”
The 15-year study assesses changes in the amount of sodium that US households acquire from packaged food purchases, the sodium content of purchases, and the proportion of households that have purchases with optimal sodium density.
It measured the decline in sodium content of the food purchases of more than 170,000 US households, which included significant decreases for condiments, sauces, dips and salty snacks.
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