A Survey on Salt Content Labeling of the Processed Food Available in Malaysia

Hasnah Haron, Ivy Hiew, Suzana Shahar, Viola Michael and Rashidah Ambak
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Hasnah Haron: Nutritonal Sciences Programme and Centre for Healthy Aging and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
Ivy Hiew: Nutritonal Sciences Programme and Centre for Healthy Aging and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
Suzana Shahar: Dietetics Programme and Centre for Healthy Aging and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
Viola Michael: Non-communicable Disease Division, Ministry of Health, Putrajaya 62590, Malaysia
Rashidah Ambak: Dietetics Programme and Centre for Healthy Aging and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 7, 1-8

Abstract: Salt content in processed foods is high, and it is usually used as preservatives, stabilizers, and color enhancers in the products. Increased consumption of processed foods in the modern world has contributed to a high salt intake and thus increased the prevalence of hypertension among Malaysian populations. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and compare salt content in processed food products available in supermarkets and determine the percentage of processed food products exceeding the reference value stated in International Product Criteria (2016). The percentage of processed food products without salt and sodium labeling was determined in this study, in which 76.5% of unlabeled processed food products were made in Malaysia, while 23.5% were imported products. The food group with the highest average salt content was gravy and sauce (3.97 g/100 g), followed by soup (2.95 g/100 g), cheese (2.14 g/100 g), meat (1.37 g/100 g), fish (1.25 g/100 g), chicken (1.20 g/100 g), vegetables (1.18 g/100 g), butter and margarine (1.13 g/100 g), breakfast cereal (0.94 g/100 g), savory snacks (0.90 g/100 g), flatbread (0.86 g/100 g), sweet snacks (0.30 g/100 g), and potato (0.29 g/100 g). In addition, 79.5% of butter and margarine products had an average salt content above the reference value stated in the International Product Criteria, followed by gravy and sauce (79.3%), vegetables (72%), soup (50%), fish (49.2%), breakfast cereal (41%), cheese (36.6%), potato (36%), savory and sweet snacks (29.1), meat (12.5%) and chicken products (2.3%). Most processed food products available in local supermarkets were high in salt content.

Keywords: salt; sodium; processed foods; labeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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