Sodium Reduction in Processed Foods in Canada: An Evaluation of Progress toward Voluntary Targets from 2012 to 2016

Table of Contents

• Executive Summary: Sodium Reduction in Processed Foods in Canada
• Background
  • Sodium and health
  • Canadians' sodium intake
  • Sodium reduction in Canada
  • Health Canada's actions to date
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion and Next Steps
• Appendix A: Baseline levels, reduction targets, and 2017 evaluation results
• Appendix B: Summary of sodium levels compared to sodium reduction targets
• Appendix C: Food categories in which sodium increased since baseline
• Appendix D: Summary of sodium levels compared to Maximum Levels
• References

Executive Summary: Sodium Reduction in Processed Foods in Canada

What is the issue?

Excess sodium (salt) in the diet causes high blood pressure, an important risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Heart disease and stroke are the leading cause of death in Canada, after cancer.

Canadians of all ages consume too much sodium. A major source of sodium in the diet is processed food. A cost-effective way to lower sodium intake is to reduce the amount of sodium in processed foods.

What is Health Canada doing?

In 2012, Health Canada published voluntary targets for reducing sodium in processed food by the end of 2016. The targets were developed through consultation with the food industry, health sector and research experts. The targets were designed to encourage gradual reductions, while still maintaining food safety, quality, and consumer acceptance.

In 2017, Health Canada evaluated the food industry's efforts to meet the sodium reduction targets. Figure 1 summarizes the results of this evaluation. Only 14% of food categories met the targeted reduction. In total, 48% did not make any meaningful progress toward sodium reduction; in fact, among the 48%, the sodium levels in several categories increased. In terms of the saltiest products on the market, only 30% lowered sodium content to levels similar to other foods in the same category.

Figure 1. Results of 2017 Evaluation of Sodium Reduction in Processed Foods - Text Description

The figure shows the percentage of food categories that met the phase I, phase II and phase III sodium reduction targets:

• 48% of food categories did not make progress
• 28% of food categories met the Phase I targets
• 10% of food categories met the Phase II targets
• 14% of food categories met the Phase III target

What do these results mean?

The reduction of sodium in processed foods was much lower than anticipated. For most food categories, manufacturers did not do enough to reduce the sodium levels in the foods that they sell to Canadians.

What more can be done?

Stronger efforts are needed to achieve sodium reduction in Canada. Further actions could include an ongoing monitoring program and public commitments by manufacturers to reduce sodium. The Healthy Eating Strategy includes robust sodium reduction initiatives, such as front-of-package nutrition labelling and restrictions on marketing to children. Together, these actions will encourage the changes needed to address the high rates of chronic disease in Canada.

Background

Sodium and health

Approximately 25% of Canadians aged 20 years and older have been diagnosed with high blood pressure.^Footnote 1 Many Canadians have high blood pressure without realizing it. It develops slowly over time and has no obvious symptoms. It cannot be cured, but it can be controlled with lifestyle changes like consuming a lower sodium diet, and if needed, medication. High blood pressure is an important risk factor for chronic diseases, such as heart disease and stroke. These diseases are the second and third leading causes of death in Canada, accounting for 25% of all deaths.^Footnote 2

Excess sodium intake is strongly linked to high blood pressure.^Footnote 3 Member states of the World Health Organization, including Canada, have agreed to work towards reducing global sodium intakes by 2025.^Footnote 4 The World Health Organization has identified reducing sodium intake as one of the most cost-effective measures that countries can take to reduce chronic disease.

Canadians' sodium intake

Nutrient recommendations are established by Canadian and American scientists through a review process overseen by the U.S. National Academies of Science. The sodium recommendation for good health is 1500 milligrams per day.^Footnote 3 In healthy populations, negative health effects increase at 2300 milligrams.

About 80% of Canadians consume more than 2300 milligrams of sodium each day.^Footnote 5 The rates of high sodium intakes for children and youth are even higher. Among kids aged 4 to 8 years, the rate of excess intake is 93% and among teenaged boys, it is 97%. In fact, the average sodium intake of Canadians is 3400 mg of sodium per day.^Footnote 6

Over the years, Canadian's food purchases have shifted from staple foods, used to prepare meals at home, to ready-to-eat processed foods.^Footnote 7 In Canada, processed food is the main contributor to excess intake, accounting for 77% of dietary sodium.^Footnote 6

Sodium reduction in Canada

In 2007, the Minister of Health established a Sodium Working Group to develop a strategy for reducing sodium intake in Canada. In 2010, the Working Group published their recommendations for sodium reduction.^Footnote 6 The strategy included recommendations directed at various levels of government, non-governmental organizations, consumers, the food industry, and other relevant stakeholders. The recommendations focused on four areas:

1. sodium levels in the food supply;
2. education and awareness of consumers, industry, health professionals and others;
3. research related to sodium reduction; and
4. monitoring and evaluation.

Health Canada's actions to date

Education and awareness

Since 2010, Health Canada has taken several actions to help reduce Canadians' sodium intake. In the area of education and awareness, Health Canada partnered with the food industry to develop the Nutrition Facts Education Campaign. The purpose of this campaign was to help consumers make more informed food choices using the Nutrition Facts table.

As a part of the Eat Well Campaign, Health Canada included messages to help Canadians understand the health effects of sodium and to help parents choose lower sodium foods at the grocery store and when eating out.

Sodium in the food supply

In December 2016, Health Canada introduced updates to nutrition labelling regulations as part of the Healthy Eating Strategy. These updates included standardizing serving sizes to help consumers compare the Nutrition Facts table of similar products and other changes to help make the table easier to use.

To address concerns about slow approval times for sodium alternatives, Health Canada improved the efficiency of the approval process for lower sodium food additives. The use of new regulatory tools for food additives allow for more efficient approvals, once the scientific review is completed.

In 2012, Health Canada published its Guidance for the Food Industry on Reducing Sodium in Processed Foods.^Footnote 8 This report asked the food industry to reduce sodium to targeted levels by the end of 2016. The goal of the targets was to lower sodium intakes from 3400 milligrams per day to under 2300 milligrams without requiring Canadians to make the effort to choose lower sodium foods. To achieve this, data modelling indicated that the targets would need to be ambitious.

Between 2009 and 2012, Health Canada consulted extensively with stakeholders, particularly the food industry, as well as the health sector and academic experts to develop the targets. Meetings with industry associations, individual companies, and food science experts focused on the feasibility of the targets. Before finalizing the targets, Health Canada took care to understand the role of sodium in the food, with a particular focus on avoiding potential technological and food safety issues. With these considerations in mind, Health Canada set the targets at levels that would move Canadians' intake as close as possible to 2300 milligrams per day. However, to bring intakes under the 2300-milligram level, Canadians would need to make an effort to choose lower sodium foods.

Based on consultation feedback, two types of reduction levels were set: "Phase III Targets" and "Maximum Levels". Interim targets, known as "Phase I Targets" and "Phase II Targets", were developed to encourage gradual reductions that would maintain consumer acceptance.

Details on the methods used to set these levels are provided in the 2012 guidance.^Footnote 8 Briefly, Phase III Targets were set as sales weighted averages. This type of average is calculated by giving popular foods more weight in the calculation. The purpose of this approach is to encourage manufacturers to focus their sodium reduction efforts on the most popular brands in each category.

For most categories, the Phase III Targets were set at levels that would achieve a 25-30% reduction in the average. For example, the target reductions for cottage cheese, bacon bits, and ready-to-eat breakfast cereals were 25%, 28% and 36%.

In a few cases, the targeted reductions were different. For example, in the case of cheese, feedback from stakeholders and scientific review indicated that sodium plays an important role in certain cheeses, such as aged cheddar. Therefore, the reduction for this category was set at a lower target of 7%. In the case of canned vegetables, Health Canada learned that sodium is mostly added for taste. Therefore, the reduction target was much higher, at 60%.

Maximum Levels were developed to encourage manufacturers to reduce the sodium added to the saltiest foods in each category. The range of sodium content across each food category was examined and the Maximum Level was generally set at the level below which 75% of foods fell.

In 2017, Health Canada collected data on sodium levels to evaluate manufacturers' progress toward the Phase III Targets and Maximum Levels. This report describes the results of Health Canada's evaluation. This evaluation approach is consistent with the approach taken by other countries with voluntary reduction strategies.

Methods

Sales data were used to design a food label sampling plan to collect a representative number of foods from each of the 94 categories. About 10,500 products were sampled between February and June of 2017.

Sodium information from the Nutrition Facts tables was converted to milligrams of sodium per 100 grams. This information was combined with sales volume data to determine the levels of sodium in each food category. This data was compared to the two different types of reduction levels established by Health Canada – Phase III Targets and Maximum Levels.

Phase I, II, and III Targets

Average sodium levels in each food category were compared to the baseline averages, Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III Targets. Food categories that met the final target were considered successful. If the Phase I or II Targets were met, the category was considered to have partially met the sodium reduction goal. If the Phase I Target was not met, the food category was considered to have not made meaningful progress.

Maximum Levels

The proportion of foods in each category that exceeded the Maximum Level was assessed. Categories in which at least 90% of the products were below the Maximum Level were considered to have successfully met the Maximum Level.

Results

Phase I, II, and III Targets

Appendix A to this report provides a comparison of the sodium levels to the reduction targets for each of the 94 food categories. These data are summarized in Figure 2 and the tables in Appendix B.

The overall reduction of sodium in processed foods was lower than anticipated at the outset of this initiative. Only 13 food categories (14%) met the Phase III Targets for sodium reduction (Appendix B, Table 1). Ten categories met the interim Phase II Target (Appendix B, Table 2) and 26 met the Phase I Target (Appendix B, Table 3). For example, ready-to-eat breakfast cereals reduced sodium by 29%, which met the Phase II target but not the Phase III target of 36%. If manufacturers continue to make efforts to reduce sodium in ready-to-eat breakfast cereals and other foods like canned vegetables, crackers, breads, soups, bacon, and cheeses, the Phase III targets will be reached.

In total, 45 categories did not make any meaningful progress toward sodium reduction (Appendix B, Table 4); in fact, among the 45 there were 6 categories in which sodium levels increased compared to baseline values (Appendix C).

Figure 2. Percentage of food categories that met the targets for sodium reduction - Text Description

The figure shows the percentage of food categories that met the phase I, phase II and phase III sodium reduction targets:

• 48% of food categories did not make any progress
• 28% of food categories met the Phase I reduction targets
• 10% of food categories met the Phase II reduction targets
• 14% of food categories met the Phase III targets

Maximum levels

Only 28 food categories (30%) brought the sodium level in their saltiest foods to below the Maximum Level (Appendix D).

Discussion and Next Steps

The results of this evaluation show that sodium reductions in most categories of processed foods were only modest. However, even a modest reduction in the food supply will help contribute to lower sodium intakes among Canadians.

The limited success of the voluntary targets demonstrates that stronger efforts are needed to reduce sodium. A more structured voluntary approach would increase the likelihood of success. Further options include a regular sodium-monitoring program and public reduction commitments by manufacturers.

To help reduce intakes of Canadians towards 2300 milligrams, Health Canada set ambitious targets. In the months following the publication of this evaluation, Health Canada will conduct an in-depth analysis of each category and will meet with industry stakeholders and scientific experts to better understand the challenges encountered as part of their efforts to reduce sodium. Areas that will be considered include: food safety needs and shelf life concerns; technological or functional issues related to reducing sodium in commercial settings; consumer acceptance experiences; and issues related to the categorization of foods. Health Canada will also review the experience of other jurisdictions with similar approaches such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil, Chile, and South Africa to learn from their experiences. Additionally, Health Canada will update the sodium intake estimates for Canadians using data from the 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey.

Health Canada is committed to working collaboratively with stakeholders to revisit the full scope of recommendations initially made by the Sodium Working Group and identify options that would further strengthen and support the food industry's efforts to reduce sodium. Furthermore, the robust sodium initiatives outlined in the Healthy Eating Strategy have the potential to create meaningful change and address the high rates of chronic disease in Canada.

Health Canada is planning to propose a regulatory approach that would require a symbol on the front of packaged foods that are high in sodium, sugars, and/or saturated fat. One objective of this approach is to help consumers quickly and easily identify foods that are high in sodium. In addition, it may encourage manufacturers of foods in some of the categories to reformulate their products to contain less sodium and thus avoid the requirement to display the symbol. In parallel, Health Canada has proposed to introduce regulations to restrict the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children less than 13 years of age. The definition of "unhealthy" will take the sodium content of foods into account.

The results of this evaluation come at a critical time. The Government of Canada made an unprecedented commitment to confronting the problem of chronic disease. This report confirms that Health Canada, the food industry, the health sector, and research experts must take a collaborative, ambitious role to improve the health of Canadians.

Appendix A: Baseline levels, reduction targets, and 2017 evaluation results

Food Category	Food Category Description	BASELINE LEVEL (Sales-Weighted Average) mg sodium per 100 g	PHASE I INTERIM TARGET (Sales-Weighted Average) mg sodium per 100 g	PHASE II INTERIM TARGET (Sales-Weighted Average) mg sodium per 100 g	PHASE III TARGET (Sales-Weighted Average) mg sodium per 100 g	2017 RESULTS
						Measured level (Sales-Weighted Average) mg sodium per 100 g	Progress relative to targets
1. Bakery products (Levels also apply to gluten free products)
1a. English muffins and raisin bread	White or whole grain English muffins, crumpets, and raisin bread.	373	340	300	260	317	Met the Phase I interim target
1b. Pantry bread and rolls, bagels, croissants, and flatbreads	Prepackaged white or whole grain sliced breads, bagels, croissants (includes frozen doughs as consumed), flatbreads (pita, Greek flatbread), pizza crusts, diet or low calorie breads, and pantry rolls and buns. Also includes par-baked bread and rolls.	469	430	380	330	424	Met the Phase I interim target
1c. Hearth bread	Bread baked directly on the hearth or in a pan without sides for crispier crusts e.g. baguettes, crusted bread, artisan breads, rye bread, pumpernickel bread, and garlic bread. Includes breads with and without additions e.g. olives, onion and cheese. Also includes bread mixes and frozen dough as consumed.	531	520	490	470	511	Met the Phase I interim target
1d. Tortillas, wraps, and naan	Refrigerated and shelf stable plain or flavoured tortillas, wraps or naan. Excludes pita (see 1b).	698	650	600	550	557	Met the Phase II interim target
1e. Pie dough and shells	Refrigerated or frozen pie or tart shells, and dry mixes as consumed. Excludes graham cracker crusts.	369	350	300	250	376	Did not make meaningful progress
1f. Refrigerated dough	Refrigerated fruit filled pastry, garlic bread, croissant, and dinner roll dough. Excludes refrigerated cookie dough (see 1j).	733	660	590	510	689	Did not make meaningful progress
1g. Dry bread	Melba toast, rusks, breadsticks, pita or baguette chips, and other crisp breads. Excludes breadcrumbs and croutons (see 1h).	733	650	570	480	580	Met the Phase I interim target
1h. Breadcrumbs, croutons, and salad toppers	Plain seasoned breadcrumbs, croutons, and salad toppers e.g. fried chow mein noodles and wonton strips.	916	840	760	670	762	Met the Phase I interim target
1i. Crackers	Plain or flavoured crackers, sandwich crackers, puffed cakes, and graham crackers e.g. cheese crackers, soda crackers, and rice cakes. Excludes dry breads (see 1g).	859	770	690	600	748	Met the Phase I interim target
1j. Cookies	Filled and unfilled sweet cookies, biscuits, refrigerated dough, and dry mixes as consumed. Excludes infant and toddler cookies and biscuits (see 15b) and graham crackers (see 1i).	363	320	280	240	276	Met the Phase II interim target
1k. Baked desserts	Cakes, cheesecakes, snack cakes, pies, fruit crisps, doughnuts (yeast and cake types), pastries, sweet buns, brownies and squares, muffins and quick breads, and dry mix products as consumed. Excludes non-yeast leavened cinnamon rolls (see 1p).	349	310	270	230	315	Did not make meaningful progress
1l. Toaster pastries	Toaster pastries with fruit or other fillings.	360	350	330	320	358	Did not make meaningful progress
1m. Granola and cereal type bars	Granola bars (plain and coated), fruit filled bars, and muffin-type bars. Excludes sweet and salty bars (see 1n), and infant and toddler snack bars (see 15b).	276	240	210	180	244	Did not make meaningful progress
1n. Sweet and salty bars	Sweet and salty granola bars.	398	370	340	300	407	Did not make meaningful progress
1o. Pancakes, waffles, and French toast	Shelf stable, frozen, refrigerated, and dry mix products as consumed.	614	530	490	440	562	Did not make meaningful progress
1p. Tea biscuits and scones	Ready-made and dry mix tea biscuits, scones, and non-yeast leavened cinnamon rolls as consumed.	789	730	630	530	691	Met the Phase I interim target
2. Breakfast cereals
2a. Ready-to-eat cereals	Granola, muesli, shredded, flaked, puffed, extruded, and high-fibre compact cereals.	558	490	430	360	395	Met the Phase II interim target
2b. Hot instant cereals	Plain and flavoured hot instant cereals (dry mix, as sold) e.g. oatmeal.	539	460	400	340	425	Met the Phase I interim target
3. Dairy products and substitutes
3a. Cottage cheese	Plain and flavoured cottage cheese. Excludes ricotta.	375	350	330	280	278	Met the Phase III target
3b. Cream cheese, cream cheese products, and soft unripened goat cheese	Plain and flavoured (sweet or savoury) products. Includes cream cheese spread, cream cheese-style products, and soft unripened goat cheese. Excludes cream cheese based dips (see 11e).	472	440	410	350	448	Did not make meaningful progress
3c. Brie, Camembert, Cheddar, Swiss, Monterey Jack, Brick, Colby, Gouda, and Mozzarella	Brie, Camembert, mild, medium and old Cheddar, Swiss, Monterey Jack, Brick, Colby, Gouda, Mozzarella (including pasta filata), string cheese, and shredded mixed cheese. Excludes fresh Mozzarella and cheese curds.	720	710	700	670	698	Met the Phase II interim target
3d. Hard cheese, grated and ungrated	Shelf stable and refrigerated hard cheese e.g. Parmesan and Romano.	2293	2150	2010	1720	1403	Met the Phase III target
3e. Feta and feta-style cheese	Cheese sold in brine and cheese salted through a brine e.g. feta cheese.	1323	1270	1210	1100	1251	Met the Phase I interim target
3f. Processed cheese and other cheese products	Processed cheese products made from an emulsified blend of natural cheese. Includes spreads, blocks, and slices with or without added ingredients. Excludes string cheese (see 3c).	1610	1520	1420	1240	1444	Met the Phase I interim target
3g. Dairy-free cheese and spreads	Soy, rice, and other dairy-free cheese slices, blocks, and spreads.	616	560	510	460	957	Did not make meaningful progress
4. Fats and oils
4a. Salted butter and butter blends	Plain and flavoured butter and butter blends. Excludes unsalted butter.	678	620	550	480	696	Did not make meaningful progress
4b. Salted margarine	Plain and flavoured margarine. Excludes unsalted margarine.	692	620	550	480	665	Did not make meaningful progress
4c. Mayonnaise and mayonnaise type spreads and dressing	Plain and flavoured mayonnaise and mayonnaise type spreads and dressings. Includes low fat and fat-free versions, and oil based sandwich spreads. Includes standardized salad dressing (see B.07.040 and B.07.042 of the Food and Drug Regulations).	760	680	610	530	745	Did not make meaningful progress
4d. Salad dressing and vinaigrette	Refrigerated and shelf stable oil and vinegar based dressings, creamy dressings, and salad dressing mixes as consumed. Includes low fat and fat-free versions. Excludes standardized salad dressing (B.07.040 and B.07.042 of the Food and Drug Regulations) (see 4c).	987	890	790	690	843	Met the Phase I interim target
5. Fish and seafood products
5a. Canned tuna	Shelf stable water and oil packed tuna. Excludes sauce packed tuna (see 5b).	339	310	280	250	350	Did not make meaningful progress
5b. Canned salmon and other canned fish and shellfish	Canned salmon, water and oil packed fish, sauce packed fish, fish salad and shellfish e.g. sardines, mackerel, sauce packed tuna, shrimp, crab, clams, and smoked oysters. Includes retort packed products. Excludes water and oil packed tuna (see 5a) and anchovies.	384	360	340	320	361	Did not make meaningful progress
5c. Imitation and simulated seafood	Surimi, crab flavoured pollock, imitation or simulated crab and lobster meat.	630	600	580	550	462	Met the Phase III target
5d. Kippered fish	Kippered fish e.g. kippered herring.	707	650	600	540	401	Met the Phase III target
5e. Frozen plain fish and seafood with added sodium phosphate	Frozen plain fish and seafood with added sodium phosphate.	285	260	240	220	365	Did not make meaningful progress
5f. Fish and seafood: cakes or burgers, seasoned, and breaded or battered	Fish and seafood: cakes and burgers, seasoned, with sauce or seasoning, breaded or battered, and stuffed fish.	460	390	350	300	376	Met the Phase I interim target
5g. Smoked fish	Smoked fish e.g. smoked salmon and smoked rainbow trout. Excludes fresh smoked fish and salmon jerky (see 7k).	811	740	680	610	741	Did not make meaningful progress
5h. Fish and seafood mousse, spread, and dips	Fish and seafood based mousse, spread, and dips.	573	510	460	400	507	Met the Phase I interim target
6. Mixed dishes
6a. Canned chili	Shelf stable vegetarian and meat chili.	303	280	250	220	297	Did not make meaningful progress
6b. Canned stew and meatballs	Shelf stable stew, meatballs, and curries.	503	470	440	410	470	Did not make meaningful progress
6c. Shelf stable pasta, noodles, and rice or grains with sauce or seasoned	Shelf stable pasta, noodles, and rice or grain mixes with sauce or seasonings, as consumed e.g. macaroni with cheese sauce, noodles in tomato sauce, and teriyaki noodles.	368	330	300	270	557	Did not make meaningful progress
6d. Stuffing mixes	Shelf stable stuffing mixes as consumed. Excludes refrigerated stuffing (see 6j or 6k).	530	520	510	500	457	Met the Phase III target
6e. Baked and refried beans	Shelf stable meat and vegetarian baked beans and refried beans.	335	310	280	250	322	Did not make meaningful progress
6f. Pizza, pizza snacks, and frozen sandwiches	Frozen and refrigerated pizza, pizza snacks, calzones, and frozen sandwiches with or without meat. Excludes sandwich wraps and burritos (see 6j or 6k).	589	520	460	400	532	Did not make meaningful progress
6g. Frozen potatoes	Plain and seasoned French fries, sweet potato fries, hash browns and potato patties.	266	230	200	170	258	Did not make meaningful progress
6h. Dry mashed or scalloped potatoes	Dehydrated scalloped or mashed potatoes as consumed.	376	350	320	290	412	Did not make meaningful progress
6i. Refrigerated prepared salads	Refrigerated prepared salads e.g. potato salad, coleslaw, pasta salad, vegetable salad, bean salad, couscous, and rice salad.	318	290	260	220	308	Did not make meaningful progress
6j. Refrigerated or frozen appetizers/sides/entrees with a serving size less than 170 g	Dinner entrees, meal sides, meal centers, and appetizers with a serving size less than 170 grams. Excludes all other items listed in Group 6.	480	440	390	350	412	Met the Phase I interim target
6k. Refrigerated or frozen appetizers/sides/entrees with a serving size of 170 g or more	Dinner entrees, meal sides, meal centers, and appetizers with a serving size of 170 grams or more. Excludes all other items listed in Group 6.	288	260	240	220	272	Did not make meaningful progress
7. Meat products
7a. Uncooked bacon - belly	Uncooked belly bacon. Excludes back bacon (see 7o), bacon substitutes (see 7b), and pre-cooked shelf stable bacon (see 7p).	619	610	590	580	588	Met the Phase II interim target
7b. Fully cooked breakfast strips and bacon substitutes	Chicken, turkey, and other meat based breakfast strips. Excludes back bacon (see 7f) and pre-cooked shelf stable bacon (see 7p).	961	940	930	910	886	Met the Phase III target
7c. Uncooked fresh sausage	Uncooked breakfast and dinner sausages e.g. pork, chicken and turkey.	789	750	700	660	691	Met the Phase II interim target
7d. Fully cooked sausage - smoked and unsmoked, and wieners	Wieners (hot dogs) and smoked or unsmoked sausages with or without cheese.	990	940	880	830	883	Met the Phase I interim target
7e. Pâtés and spreads	Pâtés and spreads e.g. creton and liverwurst. Excludes fish pâtés and spreads (see 5h).	781	710	640	570	703	Met the Phase I interim target
7f. Packaged deli meats - fully cooked	Cooked deli meat e.g. smoked meat, pastrami, bologna, corned beef, ham, sliced chicken and turkey, luncheon meat loaf, roast beef, cooked pepperoni, and cooked back bacon.	1028	970	910	850	903	Met the Phase II interim target
7g. Packaged deli meats - dry cured, fermented, no thermal process	Dry cured, fermented deli meats which have not been thermally processed, e.g. salami and dried pepperoni. Excludes Prosciutto.	1592	1510	1420	1330	1549	Did not make meaningful progress
7h. Canned chicken or turkey	Shelf stable flakes and chunks of chicken or turkey.	554	520	480	450	579	Did not make meaningful progress
7i. Canned meat	Shelf stable meats e.g. Vienna sausage, flaked ham, corned beef, and luncheon meat.	865	840	820	790	847	Did not make meaningful progress
7j. Meat sticks	Shelf stable and refrigerated meat sticks e.g. pepperoni, turkey, beef, ham, and chicken.	1204	1160	1120	1080	1191	Did not make meaningful progress
7k. Jerky	Shelf stable jerky e.g. beef, turkey, and salmon.	2355	2200	2050	1900	1552	Met the Phase III target
7l. Meat/Poultry marinated or flavoured and moisture enhanced, uncured	Whole muscle cuts with sauce, marinade and/or dry rubs, and meat with added sodium phosphate.	458	430	400	370	734	Did not make meaningful progress
7m. Burgers, meatballs, meat loaf, and breaded meat and poultry	Meat and poultry burgers, meatballs and meatloaf, and breaded meat products e.g. products with cheese, breaded and unbreaded burgers, strips, nuggets, chicken burgers, chicken balls, schnitzel, and cutlets.	503	490	470	450	529	Did not make meaningful progress
7n. Chicken wings	Cooked and uncooked chicken wings in sauce, breaded or battered, and seasoned.	689	650	610	570	978	Did not make meaningful progress
7o. Preserved meat - uncooked	Uncooked pickled, corned, cured or smoked meats (excludes dried and salted meats) e.g. cottage roll, corned beef, pork picnic, Wiltshire bacon, and uncooked back bacon. Excludes belly bacon (see 7a) and cooked back bacon (see 7f).	1084	1020	960	900	746	Met the Phase III target
7p. Bacon bits and shelf stable pre-cooked bacon	Shelf stable real and simulated bacon bits and bacon strips.	2514	2250	2020	1800	1631	Met the Phase III target
8. Meat substitutes
8a. Seasoned tofu and tempeh	Savoury, marinated, and seasoned tofu and tempeh. Excludes plain tofu, tofu based desserts and plain tempeh.	148	130	120	100	46	Met the Phase III target
8b. Meat analogues	Frozen and refrigerated meat analogs e.g. veggie patties, burgers, veggie dogs, meatballs, and deli style slices. Excludes dairy-free cheese (see 3g).	577	540	460	380	545	Did not make meaningful progress
9. Soups
9a. Canned, dried, and refrigerated soups	Canned condensed, ready-to-serve, and dried cream and broth-based soup, broth, stock, bouillon, and consommé as consumed. Includes fresh and instant oriental noodle soups.	289	280	260	240	266	Met the Phase I interim target
10. Snacks
10a. Chips, popcorn, and extruded corn snacks	Potato, corn, tortilla, rice, and vegetable chips; extruded and puffed corn snacks; microwave and stovetop ready popcorn, and seasoned or candied ready to eat popcorn. Excludes unseasoned dry popcorn kernels.	676	580	490	400	645	Did not make meaningful progress
10b. Pretzels and snack mixes	Hard pretzels, candied pretzels, sesame sticks, and assorted snack mixes. Excludes trail mix.	1307	1140	970	790	1103	Met the Phase I interim target
10c. Nuts, seeds, and kernels, seasoned and candied	Seasoned, salted, and candied nuts, seeds, and kernels e.g. salted sunflower seeds, BBQ peanuts, and beer nuts. Excludes unsalted products.	519	460	390	320	406	Met the Phase I interim target
10d. Pudding	Refrigerated, shelf stable, and dry mix puddings as consumed. Includes soy pudding.	130	110	100	80	129	Did not make meaningful progress
11. Sauces, dips, gravies and condiments
11a. Pasta sauce	Shelf stable, refrigerated, frozen, and dry mix tomato-based pasta, pizza, and lasagna sauces, and cream or cheese sauces, as consumed.	461	410	360	320	367	Met the Phase I interim target
11b. Pesto	Shelf stable and refrigerated pesto e.g. basil or sun-dried tomato pesto.	1094	990	880	770	629	Met the Phase III target
11c. Tomato sauce	Shelf stable plain or flavoured tomato sauce. Excludes tomato-based pasta sauces (see 11a) and tomato paste (see 12a).	386	380	300	250	334	Met the Phase I interim target
11d. Condiments	Shelf stable condiments e.g. ketchup, chili sauce, seafood sauce, BBQ sauce, steak sauce, chutney, and mustard. Excludes relish (see 12d).	1002	890	770	660	1049	Did not make meaningful progress
11e. Gravy, cooking sauces, dips, and salsa.	Shelf stable, refrigerated and dry mix gravy, cooking sauces (e.g. hollandaise, curry, and stir-fry sauces), salsa, and vegetable, legume, and dairy-based dips as consumed. Excludes curry paste (see 11i).	637	570	480	400	636	Did not make meaningful progress
11f. Sweet oriental sauces	Sweet oriental sauces e.g. plum sauce, cherry sauce, pineapple sauce, and sweet and sour sauce. Excludes sweet chili sauce (see 11g).	158	140	120	100	514	Did not make meaningful progress
11g. Soya and other oriental sauces	Oriental sauces e.g. soya, teriyaki, black bean, fish, hoisin, peanut sauce, and sweet chili sauce. Excludes stir-fry sauce (see 11e), marinades (see 11h), and sweet oriental sauces (see 11f).	3475	3100	2700	2300	3549	Did not make meaningful progress
11h. Marinades	Shelf stable and dry marinade mixes as consumed.	2755	2440	2120	1800	2412	Met the Phase I interim target
11i. Curry pastes	Curry pastes e.g. Thai and Indian.	2023	1740	1520	1300	1995	Did not make meaningful progress
12. Vegetables
12a. Tomato paste with additions	Tomato paste with additions e.g. tomato paste with herbs or garlic. Excludes plain tomato paste with no added salt.	727	640	560	470	252	Met the Phase III target
12b. Canned vegetables and legumes	Canned vegetables and legumes e.g. potatoes, tomatoes, corn, peas, green beans, mushrooms, mixed vegetables, beets (plain and pickled), kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils, and bean salads.	246	200	150	100	186	Met the Phase I interim target
12c. Sour pickled vegetables	Shelf stable sour pickled vegetables e.g. cucumbers, onions, peppers, sauerkraut, and other vegetables.	891	810	720	640	854	Did not make meaningful progress
12d. Sweet pickled vegetables	Shelf stable sweet pickled vegetables e.g. cucumbers, onions, relish, and other vegetables.	558	500	450	400	506	Did not make meaningful progress
12e. Olives and sundried tomatoes	Shelf stable un-stuffed olives, tapenade, and sundried tomatoes. Excludes stuffed olives (see 12f).	1227	1160	1020	880	1163	Did not make meaningful progress
12f. Stuffed olives	Shelf stable stuffed olives.	1801	1750	1680	1600	1603	Met the Phase II interim target
12g. Vegetable juice and cocktail	Vegetable juice and vegetable juice cocktail e.g. tomato juice, carrot juice, and tomato and clam juice. Excludes vegetable and fruit juice blends.	236	220	200	180	199	Met the Phase II interim target
13. Nut butters
13a. Nut butters	Nut butters e.g. peanut, almond, cashew, and soy. Excludes unsalted nut butters and tahini.	447	400	350	300	354	Met the Phase I interim target
14. Seasoning mixes
14a. Breading, batter, and coatings	Meat, fish, and vegetable breading or batter coatings.	3005	2650	2250	1840	2631	Met the Phase I interim target
14b. Dry seasoning mixes	Dry seasoning mixes for side and main dishes e.g. chili, stew, fajita, and salad seasoning. Includes popcorn seasoning. Excludes salts listed in Division 7 of the Food and Drug Regulations.	7281	6500	5800	5100	10557	Did not make meaningful progress
14c. Meat and fish seasoning	Dry seasoning for meat and fish e.g. steak spice.	17521	17200	15000	12700	17255	Did not make meaningful progress
15. Infant and toddler foods
15a. Toddler mixed dishes	Shelf stable and frozen toddler entrees.	215	210	200	190	96	Met the Phase III target
15b. Cookies, biscuits and snack bars	Infant and toddler cookies, biscuits and snack bars.	247	220	190	160	166	Met the Phase II interim target
15c. Savoury snacks	Infant and toddler seasoned extruded snacks.	714	610	500	400	514	Met the Phase I interim target

Appendix B: Summary of sodium levels compared to sodium reduction targets

Table 1. Food categories that met the Phase III target for sodium reduction

Food Category	Examples of Foods in Category
Dairy Products and Substitutes
Cottage cheese	Plain and flavoured cottage cheese
Hard cheese, grated and ungrated	Parmesan and Romano
Fish and Seafood Products
Imitation and simulated seafood	Crab flavoured pollock, simulated crab and lobster meat
Kippered fish	Kippered herring
Meat Products
Fully cooked breakfast strips and bacon substitutes	Chicken, turkey, and other meat based breakfast strips
Jerky	Beef, turkey, and salmon jerky
Preserved meat – uncooked	Cottage roll, corned beef, smoked meat, and uncooked back bacon
Bacon bits and shelf stable pre-cooked bacon	Simulated bacon bits and bacon strips
Meat Substitutes
Seasoned tofu and tempeh	Savoury, marinated, and seasoned tofu and tempeh
Mixed Dishes
Stuffing mixes	Shelf stable stuffing mixes
Vegetables
Tomato paste with additions	Tomato paste with herbs or garlic
Sauces, Dips, Gravies and Condiments
Pesto	Basil or sun-dried tomato pesto
Infant and Toddler Foods
Toddler mixed dishes	Shelf stable and frozen toddler entrees

Table 2. Food categories that met the Phase II interim target for sodium reduction

Food Category	Examples of Foods in Category
Bakery Products
Tortillas and wraps	Plain or flavoured tortillas, wraps or naan
Cookies	Filled and unfilled sweet cookies and biscuits
Breakfast Cereals
Ready-to-eat cereals	Granola, muesli, shredded, flaked, puffed, extruded, and high-fibre cereals
Dairy Products and Substitutes
Brie, Camembert, Cheddar, Swiss, Monterey Jack, Brick, Colby, Gouda, and Mozzarella	Brie, Camembert, Cheddar, Swiss, Monterey Jack, Brick, Colby, Gouda, Mozzarella
Meat Products
Uncooked bacon – belly	Uncooked belly bacon
Uncooked fresh sausage	Uncooked breakfast and dinner sausages
Packaged deli meats - fully cooked	Pastrami, bologna, ham, sliced chicken and turkey, roast beef and pepperoni
Vegetables
Stuffed olives	Stuffed olives
Vegetable juice and cocktail	Tomato juice, carrot juice, and tomato and clam juice
Infant and Toddler Foods
Toddler cookies, biscuits and snack bars	Infant and toddler cookies, biscuits and snack bars

Table 3. Food categories that met the Phase I interim target for sodium reduction

Food Category	Examples of Foods in Category
Bakery Products
English muffins and raisin bread	White or whole grain English muffins, crumpets, and raisin bread
Pantry bread and rolls, bagels, croissants, and flatbreads	White or whole grain sliced breads, bagels, croissants, and flatbreads
Hearth bread	Baguettes, crusted bread, artisan breads, rye bread, and garlic bread
Dry bread	Melba toast, rusks, breadsticks, pita or baguette chips, and other crisp breads
Breadcrumbs, croutons, and salad toppers	Plain and seasoned breadcrumbs, croutons, and salad toppers
Crackers	Cheese crackers, soda crackers, and rice cakes
Tea biscuits and scones	Tea biscuits, scones, and non-yeast leavened cinnamon rolls
Breakfast Cereals
Hot instant cereals	Flavoured oatmeal
Dairy Products and Substitutes
Feta and feta-style cheese	Feta cheese
Processed cheese and other cheese products	Cheese spreads, blocks, and slices with or without added ingredients
Fish and Seafood Products
Fish and seafood: cakes or burgers, seasoned, and breaded or battered	Seasoned, breaded, battered, and stuffed fish
Fish and seafood mousse, spread, and dips	Fish and seafood based mousse, spread, and dips
Meat Products
Fully cooked sausage - smoked and unsmoked, and wieners	Wieners (hot dogs) and smoked or unsmoked sausages
Pâtés and spreads	Cretons and liverwurst
Mixed Dishes
Refrigerated or frozen appetizers/sides/entrees with a serving size less than 170 g	Frozen appetizers
Soups
Canned, dried, and refrigerated soups	Canned condensed, ready-to-serve cream and broth-based soup, dry soup mixes
Vegetables
Canned vegetables and legumes	Canned tomatoes, corn, peas, green beans, kidney beans and lentils
Fats and Oils
Salad dressing and vinaigrette	Oil and vinegar based and creamy dressings
Nut Butters
Nut butters	Salted peanut, almond, cashew, and soy butters
Sauces, Dips, Gravies and Condiments
Pasta sauce	Tomato-based pasta, pizza, and lasagna sauces, and cream or cheese sauces
Tomato sauce	Plain or flavoured tomato sauce
Marinades	Dry marinade mixes as consumed
Seasoning Mixes
Breading, batter, and coatings	Breading or batter coatings for meat, fish and vegetables
Snacks
Pretzels and snack mixes	Hard pretzels, candied pretzels, sesame sticks, and assorted snack mixes
Nuts, seeds, and kernels, seasoned and candied	Salted sunflower seeds, peanuts, and nuts
Infant and Toddler Foods
Toddler savoury snacks	Infant and toddler seasoned extruded snacks

Table 4. Food categories that did not make meaningful progress in sodium reduction

Food Category	Examples of Foods in Category
Bakery Products
Pie dough and shells	Refrigerated or frozen pie or tart shells
Refrigerated dough	Refrigerated fruit filled pastry, garlic bread, croissant, and dinner roll dough
Baked desserts	Cakes, snack cakes, pies, doughnuts, pastries, brownies and muffins
Toaster pastries	Toaster pastries with fruit or other fillings
Granola and cereal type bars	Granola bars (plain and coated), fruit filled bars, and muffin-type bars
Sweet and salty bars	Sweet and salty granola bars
Pancakes, waffles, and French toast	Dry pancake mix as consumed
Dairy Products and Substitutes
Cream cheese, cream cheese products, and soft unripened goat cheese	Cream cheese spread, cream cheese-style products, and soft unripened goat cheese
Dairy-free cheese and spreads	Soy, rice, and other dairy-free cheese slices, blocks, and spreads
Fish and Seafood Products
Canned tuna	Water and oil packed tuna
Canned salmon and other canned fish and shellfish	Sardines, mackerel, sauce packed tuna, shrimp, crab, clams, and smoked oysters
Frozen plain fish and seafood with added sodium phosphate	Frozen plain fish and seafood with added sodium phosphate
Smoked fish	Smoked salmon and smoked rainbow trout
Meat Products
Packaged deli meats - dry cured, fermented, no thermal process	Salami and dried pepperoni
Canned chicken or turkey	Canned flakes and chunks of chicken or turkey
Canned meat	Canned Vienna sausage, flaked ham, corned beef, and luncheon meat
Meat sticks	Pepperoni, turkey, beef, ham, and chicken sticks
Meat/Poultry marinated or flavoured and moisture enhanced, uncured	Meat and poultry with added sodium phosphate
Burgers, meatballs, meat loaf, and breaded meat and poultry	Beef burgers, breaded and unbreaded chicken burgers, chicken strips and nuggets, and schnitzel
Chicken wings	Cooked and uncooked chicken wings
Meat Substitutes
Meat analogues	Veggie patties, burgers, veggie dogs, meatballs, and deli style slices
Mixed Dishes
Canned chili	Shelf stable vegetarian and meat chili
Canned stew and meatballs	Canned stew, meatballs, and curries
Shelf stable pasta, noodles, and rice or grains with sauce or seasoned	Macaroni with cheese sauce, noodles in tomato sauce, and teriyaki noodles
Baked and refried beans	Meat and vegetarian baked beans and refried beans
Pizza, pizza snacks, and frozen sandwiches	Frozen and refrigerated pizza and calzones, and frozen sandwiches
Frozen potatoes	French fries, sweet potato fries, hash browns and potato patties
Dry mashed or scalloped potatoes	Dehydrated scalloped or mashed potatoes.
Refrigerated prepared salads	Potato salad, coleslaw, pasta salad, bean salad, couscous, and rice salad
Refrigerated or frozen appetizers/sides/entrees with a serving size of 170 g or more	Refrigerated or frozen dinner entrees with a serving size of 170 g or greater
Vegetables
Sour pickled vegetables	Pickled cucumbers, onions and peppers and sauerkraut
Sweet pickled vegetables	Sweet pickles and relish
Olives and sundried tomatoes	Olives (not stuffed), tapenade, and sundried tomatoes
Fats and Oils
Salted butter and butter blends	Plain and flavoured butter and butter blends
Salted margarine	Plain and flavoured margarine
Mayonnaise and mayonnaise type spreads and dressing	Plain and flavoured mayonnaise and mayonnaise type spreads and dressings
Sauces, Dips, Gravies and Condiments
Condiments	Ketchup, chili sauce, seafood sauce, BBQ sauce, steak sauce and mustard
Gravy, cooking sauces, dips, and salsa.	Hollandaise, curry, and stir-fry sauces and salsa
Sweet oriental sauces	Plum sauce, cherry sauce, pineapple sauce, and sweet and sour sauce
Soya and other oriental sauces	Soya, teriyaki, black bean, fish, hoisin, peanut sauce, and sweet chili sauce
Curry pastes	Thai and Indian curry pastes
Seasoning Mixes
Dry seasoning mixes	Chili, stew, fajita, and salad seasoning
Meat and fish seasoning	Steak spice
Snacks
Chips, popcorn, and extruded corn snacks	Potato, corn, tortilla, rice, and vegetable chips.
Pudding	Refrigerated and dry mix puddings

Appendix C: Food categories in which sodium increased since baseline

Dairy Products and Substitutes

• Dairy-free cheese and spreads

Fish and Seafood Products

• Frozen plain fish and seafood with added sodium phosphate

Mixed Dishes

• Dry mashed or scalloped potatoes

Sauces, Dips, Gravies and Condiments

• Condiments (ketchup, chili sauce, seafood sauce, BBQ sauce, steak sauce and mustard)
• Sweet oriental sauces

Seasoning Mixes

• Dry seasoning mixes

Appendix D: Summary of sodium levels compared to Maximum Levels

List of food categories where the sodium levels of at least 90% of food products moved below the Maximum Levels by 2017

Bakery Products

• Tortillas and wraps
• Pie dough and shells

Breakfast Cereals

• Ready-to-eat cereals
• Instant hot cereals

Dairy Products and Substitutes

• Cottage cheese
• Cream cheese, cream cheese products, and soft unripened goat cheese

Fish and Seafood Products

• Canned tuna
• Imitation and simulated seafood
• Kippered fish
• Smoked fish

Meat Products

• Bacon bits and shelf stable precooked bacon

Meat Substitutes

• Seasoned tofu and tempeh

Mixed Dishes

• Canned chili
• Canned stew and meatballs
• Stuffing mixes
• Pizza, pizza snacks and frozen sandwiches

Soups

• Soups

Vegetables

• Tomato paste with additions
• Vegetable juices and cocktails

Fats and Oils

• Salted butter and butter blends
• Salted margarine
• Salad dressing and vinaigrette

Nut Butters

• Nut Butters

Sauces, Dips, Gravies and Condiments

• Pasta sauce
• Tomato sauce

Seasoning Mixes

• Meat and fish seasoning

Infant and Toddler Foods

• Toddler mixed dishes
• Toddler cookies, biscuits and snack bars