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For years, food manufacturers have focused on reducing fat in the marketplace, reformulating products to create healthier versions acceptable to the consumer in fat content and flavor. Often sodium content increased to compensate for the decreased/missing taste of the fat. But excess sodium intake may contribute to the development of hypertension in some individuals, increasing cardiovascular disease risk. Processed and restaurant foods contribute approximately 77% of the dietary sodium for Americans. To create awareness of the variability of sodium levels in food products, comparisons were made between food composition tables and data from manufacturers/restaurants. This variability challenges researchers to accurately assess dietary sodium intake of individuals. Current data collected from the marketplace confirmed the variability of sodium content in food products, especially when comparing the sodium data from foods in the USDA databases to the data provided by manufacturers for the same food products. For some frozen meals, the sodium may be approximately on target (653 mg vs 660 mg) or may vary greatly (1863 mg vs 2263 mg). Variations were also noted in fast foods, where foods identified in the database may have values different from the ones available from the producer; sodium may be either underestimated or overestimated; it is not always on target. Depending upon your objective, awareness of the variability among food products is key. It is not feasible to capture the sodium content of every food in the marketplace but being aware of these differences and updating databases (particularly for your own feeding or assessment trials) are necessary steps to assess actual sodium consumption. Intended use of the data will drive the decision regarding the need for sodium specificity. |
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