assessment of salt and sodium in processed foods, iran 2011-2013

assessment of salt and sodium in processed foods, iran 2011-2013 sajjadi f1 (bsc), maghroun m2 (bsc), sarhanghpor mr3 (msc, phd student), nouri f4 (msc), shriatifar m5 (msc), mohammadifard n4* (msc, phd student) 1 hypertension research center, cardiovascular research institute, isfahan university of medical sciences, isfahan, iran 2 cardiac rehabilitation research center, cardiovascular research institute, isfahan university of medical sciences, isfahan, iran 3ibnesina food laboratory, isfahan, iran 4 isfahan cardiovascular research center, cardiovascular research institute, isfahan university of medical sciences, isfahan, iran 5 isfahan institute of standard and industrial research, isfahan, iran original article received: 21 apr 2015, accepted: 15 jul 2015 abstract introduction: hypertension is the leading cause of cardiovascular events in iran as well as worldwide. salt intake amongst iranian adults is more twice than world health organization recommended level. this study was conducted to assess salt and sodium level in iranian processed foods. methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted in isfahan during 2011-2013.at least 5 samples of 94 items of processed food with different variety of valid brands were gathered from isfahan shopping centers and their salt and sodium level were measured. the national standard number was used to compare the mean of salt and sodium of foods with standard level. results: the mean of salt and sodium in all types of processed food were 1.44± 1.10 gr/100 and 792.74± 569.49 mg/100 gr. of total number of food products 50% were salty foods (salt ≥ 1.25 gr/100) and 70% were high-sodium products (sodium≥500 mg/ 100 gr). conclusion: cheese had the highest level of salt and sodium among all processed foods. the policy of salt and sodium reduction in processed foods should be taken into account in national food standard formulation and reformulation. conducting further research to produce low salt products with no added preservative is an effective strategy in salt reduction program. keywords: hypertension, salt, sodium, processed foods please cite this article as follows: sajjadi f, maghroun m, sarhanghpor mr, nouri f, shriatifar m, mohammadifard n. assessment of salt and sodium in processed foods, iran 2011-2013.hakim health sys res 2015; 18(3): 201- 208.   *corresponding author: isfahan cardiovascular research center, cardiovascular research institute, isfahan university of medical sciences, isfahan, iran. seddigheh tahereh research building, khorram ave., jomhoori islami sq., isfahan, iran. p.o box: 81465-1148, postal code: 8187698191, tel: +98- 31- 33377883, fax: +98- 31- 33373435. e-mail: [email protected]