The Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) did a study that found that the sodium level of many processed foods sold in Spain “has not decreased in recent years, despite public health commitments to reduce its impact on cardiovascular diseases.”
In this case, processed meats have 30% more sodium, which is reported as salt in nutritional information. The school also said that more cheeses are being marketed that go above the recommended limits.
The UMH says that the study shows that it will be “difficult” to “significantly reduce the health problems associated with excessive sodium consumption,” which “in Spain comes mainly from processed supermarket foods,” without “more effective” obligatory measures.
The school says that eating a lot of sodium is “one of the main modifiable risk factors for high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases, responsible for a substantial part of mortality in Spain and worldwide.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that people should not eat more than two grammes of sodium per day, which is about five grammes of salt. However, the university said that the average amount of sodium eaten in Spain is almost twice the recommended amount.
Strategies for public health
Ana Belén Ropero, a professor of nutrition and food science at UMH and the study’s leader, said that “excessive sodium consumption comes mainly from processed foods and not so much from salt added during home cooking.” One of the suggested public health strategies is “to reduce sodium in supermarket products.”
The Badali Group of the UMH has looked into whether processed foods supplied in Spain have really had less sodium in them in recent years. This is because the country promised the WHO that it would cut salt consumption by 30% by 2026.
The study, which came out in the “European Journal of Nutrition,” looks at more than 6,000 packaged foods that were sold in Spain between 2017 and 2021 and 2022 and 2025. So, they looked at how the sodium levels in processed meats, bread, and cheese, which are the foods that people in Spain eat the most salt, had changed over time.
Breakfast cereals, canned veggies and legumes, sauces, cookies, and snacks are some more categories of food that often include added salt.
The findings indicate that “there has been no significant decrease in sodium in the primary food groups.”” Processed meat, which many people eat, has experienced a rise in sodium levels of more than 30%. On the other hand, other foods, such cookies and snacks, have had “little nutritional significance” drops. The survey also shows that more cheeses with a lot of salt are currently being sold.
Manel C. Hadid, a researcher at UMH, said that “anyone can identify a product with high sodium content by looking at the nutrition facts label.” She also said that “if it contains more than one gramme of salt per 100 grammes of product, it would be excessive and not recommended.” For liquids, the expert said that the rule is 0.25 grammes of salt for every 100 millilitres of product.
Marta Beltrá, a professor of nutrition and food science at UMH, also said that food makers have been told to cut back on the amount of salt they use. She said, nevertheless, that “a real decrease in health problems is unlikely” without government action that requires salt reductions.
On the other hand, multiple independent studies have shown that cutting down on sodium is “one of the best ways to stop non-communicable diseases.” But the study done at UMH showed that “the goal cannot be achieved” with the current plans.
The UMH researchers also said that the differences across products show that there is “technical room to reduce sodium without compromising consumer acceptability,” but that these changes “are not being implemented systematically.”
The study indicates the necessity to fortify regulatory frameworks, implement compulsory restrictions, and enhance food reformulation procedures to achieve international public health goals.
Database
The Badali database was utilised for the study. It was made at UMH to examine the nutritional content of foods sold in Spain and is available for free so that people can “learn to follow a balanced and healthy diet.”
Author: Derek Appleton
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