The amount of salt in shop bread and charcuterie has decreased in recent years, shows a new survey from the Food Agency. However, Swedes are still consuming far too much salt.
The salt content has decreased by 25 per cent in charcuterie products such as sausage and ham, and by approximately 20 per cent in cereal products such as bread, compared to the previous food basket survey from 2015.
The food industry and the Food Agency have been working for several years to reduce the amount of salt in food. In the Food Agency's latest food basket survey, which examines substances in food, both beneficial and harmful, it is clear that salt levels are decreasing.
It's very positive that we're now seeing an effect, says Åsa Brugård Konde, nutritionist at the Food Agency.
Reduce Salt Intake – a Government Mission
That the Swedish population should eat less salt is one of the six sub-goals in the national food goals presented by the Food Agency and the Public Health Agency in February 2024. The food goals are an attempt to get society to rally together so that it becomes easier for Swedes to eat healthily.
Salt consumption should decrease by 20 per cent by 2035 compared to 2018.
We've still got a way to go to reach the goal, but we've come a bit of the way, she says.
The food industry is working to reduce salt, but restaurants need to do more, according to Åsa Brugård Konde:
Lunches at restaurants contain far too much salt.
A survey conducted by the Food Agency a few years ago showed that a single meal could contain more than the daily recommended salt intake.
Diseases Linked to Salt
Eating too much salt is harmful to health, and in Sweden, we eat almost twice as much salt as recommended, with a maximum of six grams of salt per day.
Every fifth heart attack and every tenth stroke in Sweden is estimated to be due to excessive salt consumption, according to the Food Agency. Heart and cardiovascular disease is one of the most common causes of death in Sweden.
