Allemandi Lorena, Tiscornia María Victoria, Ponce Miguel, Castronuovo Luciana, Dunford Elizabeth, Schoj Verónica
1 Department of Healthy Nutrition Policies, Fundación InterAmericana del Corazón Argentina (FIC-Argentina), Buenos Aires, Argentina ; 2 Research Fellow, Food Policy, The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, Australia.
Cardiovasc Diagn Ther. 2015 Jun;5(3):197-206. doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2223-3652.2015.04.01.
Despite the body of evidence that documents the unfavorable effects of excessive sodium consumption on blood pressure and cardiovascular health, public health efforts to decrease sodium consumption have been limited to a few countries. Argentina is the first country in Latin America to regulate sodium content of processed foods by means of a national law. The objective of this cross-sectional quantitative study is to provide a baseline comparison against the reduction targets set by the national law before its entry into force.
Data were collected in February 2014 in a leading supermarket chain located in Buenos Aires. Nutrient data from package labels were analysed for 1,320 products within 14 food groups during the study period. To compare sodium concentration levels with the established maximum levels we matched the collected food groups with the food groups included in the law resulting in a total of 292 products. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 20 software.
Food groups with the highest median sodium content were sauces and spreads (866.7 mg/100 g), meat and meat products (750 mg/100 g) and snack foods (644 mg/100 g). Categories with the highest sodium content were appetizers (1,415 mg/100 g), sausages (1,050 mg/100 g) and ready-made meals (940.7 mg/100 g). We also found large variability within products from the same food categories. Products included in the national law correspond to 22.1% (n=292) of the surveyed foods. From the 18 food groups, 15 showed median sodium values below the established targets. Products exceeding the established maximum levels correspond to 15.1% (n=44) of the products included in the analysis.
This study is the first analysis of food labels to determine sodium concentrations of processed foods in Argentina and to provide a baseline against the national law standards. Upon the completion of this analysis, maximum levels have been achieved by most of the food groups included in the law. Thus, the introduction of further reductions for the existing maximum levels and the establishment of sodium targets for all relevant product categories not included in the law should be considered as the next steps in the process.
尽管有大量证据表明过量摄入钠对血压和心血管健康有不利影响，但减少钠摄入量的公共卫生措施仅在少数国家实施。阿根廷是拉丁美洲第一个通过国家法律对加工食品中的钠含量进行监管的国家。这项横断面定量研究的目的是在国家法律生效前，提供一个与法律设定的减少目标相对照的基线数据。
2014年2月，在布宜诺斯艾利斯的一家主要连锁超市收集数据。在研究期间，对14个食品类别中的1320种产品的包装标签上的营养数据进行了分析。为了将钠浓度水平与既定的最高水平进行比较，我们将收集到的食品类别与法律中包含的食品类别进行匹配，最终得到292种产品。使用SPSS 20版软件进行数据分析。
钠含量中位数最高的食品类别是调味酱和涂抹酱（866.7毫克/100克）、肉类和肉类制品（750毫克/100克）以及休闲食品（644毫克/100克）。钠含量最高的类别是开胃菜（1415毫克/100克）、香肠（1050毫克/100克）和即食餐（940.7毫克/100克）。我们还发现同一食品类别中的产品钠含量差异很大。国家法律涵盖的产品占被调查食品的22.1%（n = 292）。在18个食品类别中，有15个类别的钠含量中位数低于既定目标。超过既定最高水平的产品占分析中所包含产品的15.1%（n = 44）。
本研究是对阿根廷加工食品钠浓度进行食品标签分析并提供与国家法律标准相对照的基线数据的首次研究。完成该分析后，法律涵盖的大多数食品类别已达到最高水平。因此，下一步应考虑进一步降低现有最高水平，并为法律未涵盖的所有相关产品类别设定钠含量目标。
