[Interventions to reduce salt consumption through labeling].

Objective: Determine the extent to which labeling of food products informs about salt consumption.

Methods: A critical and systematic analysis was conducted of 9 studies selected out of a total of 133 studies. The studies were collected by reviewing the scientific literature on interventions conducted in the human population aimed towards reducing salt consumption through label messaging. All of the information was obtained by direct consultation and by Internet from the scientific literature collected in several databases.

Results: Out of the 133 articles recovered, after the inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, 9 studies were selected for review. All of them took into account the ability of the study population to interpret and understand salt content labeling in foods.

Conclusions: Food consumers understand and value easily recognizable logos more than the information found on nutritional composition labels. Therefore, use of alternative logos that facilitate this information and are also standardized could be justified. This situation is reinforced because the inclusion of symbols that are easily understandable favors the most adequate choice by consumers.