WHO Global Sodium Benchmarks for Different Food Categories

The World Health Organization (WHO) started to develop global benchmarks for
sodium levels in foods across different food categories in 2020. This builds on
the work and experiences of countries and regions in setting targets for sodium
levels in different food categories, as part of national and regional efforts to
reduce population salt intake, reduce the burden of diet- and nutrition-related
noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and achieve the global NCD target for a 30%
relative reduction in mean population intake of salt, with the aim of achieving a target
of less than 5 g of salt (i.e. <2 g of sodium) per day by 2025 (1). Furthermore, as a range
of stakeholders come together to transform food systems through the United Nations
Food Systems Summit, to be held in September 2021, there is now an unprecedented
opportunity to scale up these national and regional efforts to tackle unhealthy diets
and to improve the global food environment, to ensure access to safe and nutritious
food for all.