Why it matters
In most high-income countries, and increasingly in low and middle-income countries, a large proportion of salt consumed comes from processed foods and meals (including meals eaten out of the home and takeaway foods). Engaging the food industry (Tool 1) to encourage them to reduce the salt content of foods and meals is therefore a priority for most salt reduction strategies. Food manufacturers and catering companies should be encouraged to reduce salt in foods as much as possible while at the same time ensuring that, where appropriate, salt added to foods is iodized.
Salt has been added gradually to food over decades for taste and/or preservative reasons. The reasons for adding salt are different for different product categories and food safety issues need to be considered. However, evidence to date suggests that for many foods, it is possible to make reductions of between 30-40% without compromising safety or consumer acceptability.
How to do it
1. Engaging with industry
Governments can engage the food industry through a range of mechanisms, including:
- Formal consultations and sector-wide meetings
- Written communication and guidance to manufacturers and food service providers
- Public reporting and engagement through media and stakeholder platforms
While voluntary engagement can be a starting point, WHO’s updated guidance emphasises the importance of government leadership and clear expectations to ensure meaningful and sustained reductions in sodium levels.
Further information and advice to engage the food industry to reduce salt content in foods and meals is outlined in the reformulation readiness guidance by VicHealth (Resource 1). This is targeted to the context of Australia but may be applicable to other countries.
2. Setting targets for salt content
Setting targets for sodium levels in foods is one of the most effective approaches to drive reformulation (Tool 2 and Tool 3).
Targets can be:
- Voluntary, through agreements between government and industry (e.g. UK) (Resource 2)
- Mandatory, established and enforced through regulation (e.g. South Africa) (Resource 3)
WHO increasingly emphasises the importance of mandatory or enforceable approaches, as these achieve broader population coverage and create a level playing field across industry.
Targets should:
- Be product-category specific
- Be progressively lowered over time
- Align with WHO global sodium benchmarks (where applicable)
- Be supported by monitoring systems