Background: In line with the WHO Global Action Plan's objective to achieve a 30% relative reduction in the mean population intake of sodium by 2025, the Nigeria Sodium Study (NaSS) team, which aimed to evaluate the implementation and scale-up of national sodium reduction programme, hosted a policy meeting May 22, 2023, in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. The aim was to deliberate on strategies for translating data on salt levels in food and dietary patterns, intending to strengthen sodium policies in Nigeria, with the ultimate goal of producing evidence-based information that can effectively guide strategies and policies for sodium reduction.
Methods: Policymakers from federal, state, and local government levels attended, as well as representatives from national and international universities and non-governmental organizations.
Increased consumption of unhealthy processed foods, particularly those high in sodium, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. The nutrition information on packaged foods can help guide consumers toward products with less sodium and support government actions to improve the healthiness of the food supply. The aims of this study were to estimate the proportion of packaged foods displaying nutrition information for sodium and other nutrients specified by Nigerian nutrition labelling regulations and to determine the amount of sodium in packaged foods sold in Nigeria using data from the nutritional information panel.
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