An evaluation of changes in the sodium content of processed foods in Spain: assessing compliance with the 2025 WHO targets

Abstract

Background and aims Millions of lives are lost each year as a consequence of high-sodium diets. In recognition of this, the World Health Organization (WHO) established a global target in 2013: a 30% relative reduction in the mean population intake of salt/sodium by 2025. As most sodium intake in high-income countries comes from processed foods, reducing the sodium content of these products is crucial for achieving this goal. To the best of our knowledge, no country has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of changes in sodium content in processed foods covering the period up to the 2025 deadline. Therefore, this study evaluates long-term changes in the sodium content of a large sample of pre-packed processed foods available in Spain, comparing data from the final years of this commitment. Methods Data were obtained from the BADALI Food Database, developed at the Miguel Hernández University, Spain. The analysis compared the sodium content of processed foods during two periods: 2017–2021 and 2022–2025. Results A “matched-brands” analysis revealed a 4.8% increase in the sodium content of processed meat between the 2017– 2021 and 2022–2025 periods. Using “unmatched-brands” and “matched-size” approaches, a more significant increase of 33.3% was observed for processed meat. In contrast, decreases were found for biscuits (14.3%) and snacks (10%). The proportion of items meeting the criteria for “sodium-free”, “very low in sodium”, “low in sodium”, with “no added sodium” claims was also compared between the two periods. Only three differences were noted. In the 2022–2025 period, the proportion of biscuits classified as “low in sodium” increased by 57.6%, while the number of biscuits with “no added sodium” was 4.4 times higher. In contrast, the proportion for canned vegetables decreased by 34.8%. Finally, when foods were classified as “high in sodium” using two international criteria, only two significant differences emerged. According to the Pan American Health Organization’s Nutrient Profile Model (PAHO-NPM), 11.1% fewer snacks were classified as “high in sodium” in the later period. Conversely, based on the Chilean front-of-pack labelling criterion (Chile-FOP), 18.4% more cheese products fell into this category. Conclusions The findings of this study demonstrate a lack of substantial reduction in the sodium content of processed foods in Spain in recent years. It follows that, in the absence of more effective public health or regulatory interventions, a significant decrease in the prevalence of sodium-related health outcomes is improbable.