Innovative and Collaborative Strategies to Reduce Population-Wide Sodium Intake

The World Health Organization promotes salt reduction as a best-buy strategy to reduce chronic diseases, and member states have agreed to a 30 % reduction target in mean population salt intake by 2025. This systematic literature review identified a number of innovative population-level strategies, including promotion of a substitute for table salt, provision of a salt spoon to lower the amount used in home cooking and social marketing and consumer awareness campaigns on salt and health. In high-income nations, engagement with the food industry to encourage reformulation of processed foods—whether through voluntary or mandatory approaches—is key to salt reduction. Legislation of salt content in foods, although not widely adopted, can create concrete incentives and disincentives to meet targets and does not rely on individuals to change their behaviour. The important role of advocacy and lobbying to change the food supply is undisputed.