Christoforou Anthea, Bernstein Jodi, Dickinson Kacie, Yang Yahan, Arcand JoAnne, L'Abbe Mary
Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2025 Jan 1;50:1-13. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2023-0174.
In an effort to improve high sodium consumption in the population, in 2012 Health Canada released voluntary sodium reduction targets for prepackaged foods to be met before 2017. This study used the University of Toronto's Food Label Information Program database (FLIP), 2013 and 2017 collections, to evaluate changes and differences in mean sodium content of Canadian prepackaged foods and manufacturers' progress in meeting Health Canada's average and maximum sodium reduction targets. Changes to sodium content (reformulation) in products present in both FLIP years and differences across years including both new and existing products were assessed via paired and independent t-tests, respectively. The average sodium content from FLIP 2017 was also compared to previously published sales-weighted average sodium content published by Health Canada to aid in the interpretation of our results. Our reformulation analyses of consistent products between years revealed that 50% of food subcategories did not have significant changes in mean sodium from 2013 to 2017. Examining both new and existing foods, 59% of subcategories had no significant difference in mean sodium content between 2013 and 2017. The proportion of foods meeting final sodium targets was 33.6% in 2013 and 37.3% in 2017. In 2013 and 2017, 20.8% and 19.6% of products exceeded the maximum sodium targets, respectively. For almost all major food categories, a greater proportion of new products in 2017 met final sodium targets compared to existing foods (present in both FLIP 2013 and 2017). Nearly, half the major food categories examined had more new products meeting the maximum sodium target than existing products. Less than half of food subcategories (48%, = 45/94) from FLIP 2017 differed by ≥20% compared to sales-weighted averages published by Health Canada. Our findings reveal limited progress in the reduction of sodium in prepackaged foods. Calls for more robust policy initiatives and the continued independent monitoring of food industry efforts in Canada are warranted.
为努力改善民众高钠摄入的情况，2012年加拿大卫生部发布了预包装食品自愿性钠减量目标，要求在2017年前实现。本研究利用多伦多大学的食品标签信息计划数据库（FLIP）2013年和2017年的数据收集，评估加拿大预包装食品平均钠含量的变化和差异，以及制造商在实现加拿大卫生部平均和最大钠减量目标方面的进展。分别通过配对t检验和独立t检验评估了在两个FLIP年份均有的产品中钠含量的变化（重新配方）以及包括新产品和现有产品在内的不同年份之间的差异。还将2017年FLIP的平均钠含量与加拿大卫生部之前公布的销售加权平均钠含量进行比较，以帮助解释我们的结果。我们对不同年份间一致产品的重新配方分析表明，50%的食品子类别从2013年到2017年平均钠含量没有显著变化。在考察新产品和现有食品时，59%的子类别在2013年至2017年期间平均钠含量没有显著差异。2013年达到最终钠目标的食品比例为33.6%，2017年为37.3%。2013年和2017年分别有20.8%和19.6%的产品超过了最大钠目标。对于几乎所有主要食品类别，与现有食品（2013年和2017年FLIP中均有）相比，2017年更多的新产品达到了最终钠目标。在所考察的主要食品类别中，近一半类别达到最大钠目标的新产品比现有产品更多。与加拿大卫生部公布的销售加权平均值相比，2017年FLIP中不到一半的食品子类别（48%，即45/94）差异≥20%。我们的研究结果显示，预包装食品的钠减量进展有限。有必要呼吁采取更有力的政策举措，并继续对加拿大食品行业的努力进行独立监测。
