Sodium concentration of pre-packaged foods sold in Hong Kong

Abstract

Objective: To describe the Na concentration of pre-packaged foods available in Hong Kong.

Design: The Na concentrations (mg/100 g or mg/100 ml or per serving) of all pre-packaged foods available for sale in major supermarket chains in Hong Kong were obtained from the 2017 Hong Kong FoodSwitch database. Median and interquartile range (IQR) of Na concentration for different food groups and the proportion of foods and beverages considered low and high Na (<120 mg/100 g or mg/100 ml and >600 mg/100 g or mg/100 ml, respectively) were determined.

Setting: Hong Kong.

Participants: Not applicable.

Results: We analysed 11 518 pre-packaged products. ‘Fruit and vegetables (including table salt)’ had the highest variability in Na concentration ranging from 0 to 39 000 mg/100 g, followed by ‘sauces, dressings, spreads and dips’ ranging from 0 to 34 130. The latter also had the highest median Na concentration (mg/100 g or mg/100 ml) at 1180 (IQR 446–3520), followed by meat and meat products (median 800, IQR 632–1068) and snack foods (median 650, IQR 453–926). Fish and fish products (median 531, 364–791) and meat and meat products (median 444, IQR 351–593) had the highest Na concentration per serving. Overall, 46·7 and 26·7 % of products were low and high in Na, respectively.

Conclusions: Our results can serve as a baseline for food supply interventions in Hong Kong. We have identified several food groups as priority areas for reformulation, demonstrating the potential of such initiatives to improve the healthiness of the food supply in Hong Kong.