Title
Changes in the sodium content of foods sold in four latin american countries: 2015 to 2018
Date Issued
01 November 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Blanco-Metzler A.
Vega-Solano J.
Franco-Arellano B.
Allemandi L.
Larroza R.B.
Weippert M.
Sivakumar B.
Benavides-Aguilar K.
Tiscornia V.
Buzarquis G.S.
Guarnieri L.
Meza-Hernández M.
Villalba F.C.
Castronuovo L.
Schermel A.
L’abbé M.R.
Arcand J.
Publisher(s)
MDPI
Abstract
In 2015, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) published sodium targets for packaged foods, which included two distinct levels: one “regional” and one “lower” target. Changes to the sodium content of the food supply in Latin American Countries (LAC) has not been evaluated. A repeated cross-sectional study used food label data from 2015 (n = 3859) and 2018 (n = 5312) to determine changes in the proportion of packaged foods meeting the PAHO sodium targets and the distribution in the sodium content of foods in four LAC (Argentina, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Peru). Foods were classified into the 18 food categories in the PAHO targets. The proportion of foods meeting the regional targets increased from 82.9% to 89.3% between 2015 and 2018 (p < 0.001). Overall, 44.4% of categories had significant decreases in mean sodium content. Categories with a higher proportion of foods meeting the regional and lower targets in 2018 compared to 2015 (p < 0.05) were breaded meat and poultry, wet and dry soups, snacks, cakes, bread products, flavored cookies and crackers, and dry pasta and noodles. While positive progress has been made in reducing the sodium content of foods in LAC, sodium intakes in the region remain high. More stringent targets are required to support sodium reduction in LAC.
Volume
13
Issue
11
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Nutrición, Dietética
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85118967089
PubMed ID
Source
Nutrients
ISSN of the container
20726643
Sponsor(s)
Acknowledgments: We acknowledge the contributions of the Dietitians of Canada and Innovative Corporate Solutions who supported the adaptation and implementation of FLIP-LAC. We acknowledge the institutional support from the Costa Rican Institute of Research and Teaching in Nutrition and Health (INCIENSA); the Fundación Interamericana del Corazón de Argentina (FIC–Argentina); Ministerio de Salud y Bienestar Social de Paraguay; CRONICAS Center of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, that supported the execution of the research project; and the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Toronto and the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Ontario Tech University, both from Canada for technical assistance. We are grateful to Roberto Bazzani, Senior Program Specialist at the International Development Research Centre, for the guidance and support he provided throughout the duration of this research project. This research was funded by the International Development Research Center, Canada, IDRC Project #108167 under the leadership of Adriana Blanco-Metzler, MSc (principal investigator) of the Costa Rican Institute of Research and Teaching in Nutrition and Health (INCIENSA), Costa Rica. Personnel funding was obtained by Dr. Franco-Arellano from CIHR Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship; by Sivakumar from CIHR Master’s Canada Graduate Scholarship, and by Arcand from the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canada National New Investigator Award. Acknowledgments: We acknowledge the contributions of the Dietitians of Canada and Innovative Corporate Solutions who supported the adaptation and implementation of FLIP-LAC. We acknowledge the institutional support from the Costa Rican Institute of Research and Teaching in Nutrition and Health (INCIENSA); the Fundación Interamericana del Corazón de Argentina (FIC–Argentina); Ministerio de Salud y Bienestar Social de Paraguay; CRONICAS Center of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, that supported the execution of the research project; and the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Toronto and the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Ontario Tech University, both from Canada for technical assistance. We are grateful to Roberto Bazzani, Senior Program Specialist at the International Development Research Centre, for the guidance and support he provided throughout the duration of this research project. Conflicts of Interest: Prior coming to the University of Toronto, B.F.-A. was a PepsiCo Mexico employee. The company had no connection or funding to the research. M.R.L. reports receiving a competitive research grant from IAFNS to analyze NHANES data to determine the intakes and sources of sodium in the diets of Americans, after this work was completed (2021–2022). All other authors have no conflicts of interest to disclosure. Funding: This research was funded by the International Development Research Center, Canada, IDRC Project #108167 under the leadership of Adriana Blanco-Metzler, MSc (principal investigator) of the Costa Rican Institute of Research and Teaching in Nutrition and Health (INCIENSA), Costa Rica. Personnel funding was obtained by Dr. Franco-Arellano from CIHR Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship; by Sivakumar from CIHR Master’s Canada Graduate Scholarship, and by Arcand from the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canada National New Investigator Award.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus