A study by Sparks et al assessed the sodium levels of processed meat products in Australian supermarkets and changes over time. Overall, they found a reduction in sodium levels in processed meats for which the government had established voluntary sodium target’s under the Food and Health Dialogue, and no change for other processed meats.
They determined the Food and Health Dialogue targets only applied to one-third of processed meat products available and only half were at or below the target. The authors suggested that the new draft Healthy Food Partnership targets, which capture a larger proportion of products and are set at lower sodium levels, may have greater potential impact if successfully implemented.
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