TABLE 2.

Distribution of sodium content in milligrams per label serving in branded packaged foods by the top food categories contributing to sodium consumption¹

Rank2	Food category	Range	Mean ± SD	Percentile
				10th	25th	50th	75th	90th
1	Breads and rolls	0–620	216 ± 88	120	150	200	250	330
	Frozen	130–490	245 ± 81	130	210	240	280	350
	Fresh bread	0–480	192 ± 61	120	150	190	230	280
	Fresh buns/rolls/bagels/etc.	85–620	299 ± 116	190	210	250	400	470
2	Cold cuts and cured meats	210–1050	497 ± 177	280	350	490	620	740
	Canned	450–990	682 ± 137	490	580	790	790	790
	Refrigerated	210–1050	485 ± 173	280	320	470	620	720
3	Pizza	270–1460	765 ± 202	480	630	770	890	1000
4	Poultry	65–1040	374 ± 199	85	190	380	490	580
5	Soups	150–1200	700 ± 195	450	480	690	870	890
6	Sandwiches	125–1260	615 ± 179	420	540	620	740	800
7	Cheese	16–520	237 ± 93	150	180	210	270	410
	Natural	16–420	177 ± 57	125	170	180	200	220
	Processed	70–520	315 ± 75	250	270	270	410	420
	Shredded/grated	45–430	190 ± 64	85	170	190	200	230
8	Pasta mixed dishes	300–1470	805 ± 177	600	660	810	940	990
	Frozen	430–1470	792 ± 202	580	650	740	880	1040
	Other	300–1300	817 ± 148	600	700	880	950	980
9	Meat mixed dishes	80–1960	966 ± 301	610	740	970	1100	1270
	Frozen	80–1960	935 ± 339	590	710	890	1100	1390
	Canned	780–1270	1046 ± 135	870	970	1000	1200	1200
10	Savory snacks	0–610	202 ± 89	110	150	180	240	310
	Potato chips	5–380	186 ± 50	135	170	180	200	230
	Tortilla chips	0–290	149 ± 44	110	115	150	180	210
	Other	15–610	275 ± 105	160	200	260	320	410
11	Burritos, tacos, tamales	240–1570	508 ± 236	270	300	480	630	760
12	Frankfurters and sausages	190–1330	557 ± 163	400	470	520	640	740
	Sausages	190–1220	531 ± 178	350	440	490	600	710
	Frankfurters/bratwursts	230–1330	578 ± 147	450	480	550	680	760
13	Salad dressings and vegetable oils	10–620	304 ± 85	210	260	310	350	410
14	Ready-to-eat cereal	0–350	172 ± 80	50	140	180	200	290
15	Tomato-based condiments	30–970	244 ± 102	190	190	200	260	430
16	Eggs and egg mixed dishes	75–1490	356 ± 425	95	115	115	390	1200
17	Fried rice, lo mein, stir-fry mixtures	135–1390	724 ± 268	490	570	650	850	1200
18	Poultry mixed dishes	85–1810	830 ± 350	460	560	790	1040	1340
19	Biscuits, muffins, quick breads	115–840	369 ± 166	180	200	340	540	580
	Frozen/refrigerated	270–840	528 ± 97	360	510	550	580	580
	Fresh	130–540	210 ± 71	170	180	200	220	250
	Mixes	115–400	290 ± 74	160	220	340	340	340
20	Macaroni and cheese	550–990	759 ± 153	580	580	820	920	940

¹Distribution is based on equivalized sales-weighted estimates [weighted by the number of equivalent units sold in ounces or each (1 ounce = 28.35 grams)].

²Ranks are based on descending order of food group’s contribution to total sodium consumption among all participants (aged ≥2 y) in NHANES 2007–2008 as published in reference 19 and expanded to include the top 20 food categories. Subgroups are based on Nielsen modules to group similar products.