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Objective: To assess the current Na levels in a variety of processed food groups and categories available in the Argentinean market to monitor compliance with the National Law and to compare the current Na content levels with the updated Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) regional targets., Design: Observational cross-sectional study., Setting and Participants: Argentina. Data were collected during March 2022 in the city of Buenos Aires in two of the main supermarket chains. We carried out a systematic survey of pre-packaged food products available in the food supply assessing Na content as reported in nutrition information panels., Results: We surveyed 3997 food products, and the Na content of 760 and 2511 of them was compared with the maximum levels according to the Argentinean law and the regional targets, respectively. All food categories presented high variability of Na content. More than 90 % of the products included in the National Sodium Reduction Law were found to be compliant. Food groups with high median Na, such as meat and fish condiments, leavening flour and appetisers are not included in the National Law. In turn, comparisons with PAHO regional targets indicated that more than 50 % of the products were found to exceed the regional targets for Na., Conclusions: This evidence suggests that it is imperative to update the National Sodium Reduction Law based on regional public health standards, adding new food groups and setting more stringent legal targets.

In 2015, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) published sodium targets for packaged foods, which included two distinct levels: one "regional" and one "lower" target. Changes to the sodium content of the food supply in Latin American Countries (LAC) has not been evaluated. A repeated cross-sectional study used food label data from 2015 ( n = 3859) and 2018 ( n = 5312) to determine changes in the proportion of packaged foods meeting the PAHO sodium targets and the distribution in the sodium content of foods in four LAC (Argentina, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Peru). Foods were classified into the 18 food categories in the PAHO targets. The proportion of foods meeting the regional targets increased from 82.9% to 89.3% between 2015 and 2018 ( p < 0.001). Overall, 44.4% of categories had significant decreases in mean sodium content. Categories with a higher proportion of foods meeting the regional and lower targets in 2018 compared to 2015 ( p < 0.05) were breaded meat and poultry, wet and dry soups, snacks, cakes, bread products, flavored cookies and crackers, and dry pasta and noodles. While positive progress has been made in reducing the sodium content of foods in LAC, sodium intakes in the region remain high. More stringent targets are required to support sodium reduction in LAC.

Sodium intake in Argentina has been estimated to be at least double the dose of 2000 mg/day recommended by WHO, mostly coming from processed foods. Argentina is one of the few countries in the world that have regulated sodium content in certain food products. This study presents an assessment of sodium content in a selection of food groups and categories as reported in the nutrient information panels. We surveyed 3674 food products, and the sodium content of 864 and 1375 of them was compared to the maximum levels according to the Argentinean law and the regional targets, respectively. All food categories presented high variability of sodium content. Over 90% of the products included in the national sodium reduction law were found to be compliant. Food groups with high median sodium, such as condiments, sauces and spreads, and fish and fish products, are not included in the national law. In turn, comparisons with the lower regional targets indicated that almost 50% of the products analyzed had sodium contents above the recommended values. This evidence suggests that enhancing sodium reduction in processed foods may be a necessity for public health objectives and it is also technically feasible in Argentina.