Brazil
Country targets
- Sodium: No mandatory sodium targets as of 2022, but in 2010 voluntary sodium reduction targets were developed with goals for 2011-2016
- Sugar: No mandatory targets as of 2022, but voluntary agreements developed in 2018 to reduce sugar in processed foods by 2025
- Saturated fat: No targets
Sodium (2017):
Packaged food sampling
Number of products sampled: 3,336
Date collected: 2017
Nutrient types: sodium
Methods
Data on sodium content were obtained mainly from the official websites of food companies registered with the Brazilian Association of Food Industries, whose products comprise 70% of all processed food on the market. Any nutritional information that was not available on company websites was collected through the companies’ customer services. Baseline and follow-up data for each product included the manufacturer, brand and product name, as well as the sodium content per 100 g of food.
Products were classified into 20 food categories. The mean and median sodium content (mg per 100 g) of all food categories, along with their standard deviation and minimum and maximum values are reported for 2011, 2013–2014 and 2017.
Data source
Citation: Nilson EAF, Spaniol AM, Gonçalves VSS, et al. Sodium Reduction in Processed Foods in Brazil: Analysis of Food Categories and Voluntary Targets from 2011 to 2017. Nutrients. 2017;9(7):742. Published 2017 Jul 12. doi:10.3390/nu9070742
Contact
Dr. Eduardo Nilson
Researcher, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz)
Brasilia, Brazil
[email protected]
Institution leading data collection
Brazilian Association of Food Industries (ABIA)
Researcher, Nutritional Technology Laboratory, Health and Nutrition Unit
Sodium (2015-2016):
Packaged food sampling
Number of products sampled: 1,382
Date collected: July 2015 – February 2016
Nutrient types: sodium
Methods
Data on packaged food in Brazil was obtained by research teams from the Latin American Network of Food Composition Data System (LATINFOODS) as part of a larger study from 14 participating countries: Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Panama, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago. Samples were collected from the grocery stores with the greatest market share in each country; nutrition labels were photographed for content.
Mean, median, standard deviation, interquartile range and minimum and maximum levels were calculated for sodium content (mg/100g) in each of 12 food categories and were used for comparison with the regional target level for sodium.
Data source
Citation: Arcand J, Blanco-Metzler A, Benavides Aguilar K, L’Abbe MR, Legetic B. Sodium Levels in Packaged Foods Sold in 14 Latin American and Caribbean Countries: A Food Label Analysis. Nutrients. 2019;11(2):369. Published 2019 Feb 11. doi:10.3390/nu11020369
Contact
Dra. Johana Ortiz, PhD
Professor, University of Cuenca
Institution leading data collection
Latin American Network of Food Composition Data System (LATINFOODS)
