TABLE 3.

Characteristics of included salt level in food studies undertaken between January 2009 and November 2019 (n = 11)

Author, year, and design	Country	Type of food assessed	Source of sodium information	Summary result
Al Jawaldeh et al 30 Cross‐sectional study	Egypt Tunisia	Baladi refined bread (Ayash) and Baladi ordinary (Ayash) in Egypt and French bread in Tunisia	Chemical analysis	Mean (SD) salt and sodium content in bread for all countries was 7.63 (SD 3.12) and 3.0 (SD 1.23) g/kg, respectively, with a mean salt content of bread of 4.57 g/kg, contributing 1.4 g of salt intake daily. Mean salt content of baladi refined and baladi ordinary bread in Egypt was 4.02 and 5.11 g/kg, respectively, which contributed to 1.2 and 1.5 g of salt intake daily. The salt content of French bread in Tunisia was 12.41 g/kg, contributing 3.7 g of salt intake daily.
El‐Kardi et al 37 Cross‐sectional study	Morocco	Tuna sandwich, merguez sandwich, minced meat sandwich, eggs sandwich, shawarma, and pizza	Chemical analysis	Mean sodium content in the various types of fast foods showed values ranging from 0.25 g/100 g in minced meat sandwiches to 0.44 g/100 g in pizzas. Regarding salt content per individual serving, pizzas had the highest average salt content (2.93 g/serving), while the minced meat sandwiches had the lowest average amount (1.42 g/serving)
Feeley et al 51 Longitudinal birth cohort study	South Africa	Consumed foods	Interviewer‐assisted questionnaires on dietary practices	Mean sodium content from purchased food items was estimated 4803 mg/wk for males and 4761 mg/wk for females, respectively (P > .05). Fast foods contributed the greatest amount to sodium (52.5%), followed by salty snacks (31.2%), confectionery (12.7%), and sweetened beverages (3.6%)
Jafri et al 38 Cross‐sectional study	Morocco	Commercial white bread	Chemical analysis	Mean (SD) added salt during preparation of regular white bread was 17.37 (4.23) g/kg, which is the equivalent of a daily intake of 8‐9 g of salt through bread alone
Morakinyo et al 43 Cross‐sectional study	Nigeria	Commonly consumed local foods in Nigeria	Chemical analysis	Mean (SD) sodium content expressed as mg/100 g dry weight in Nigerian local foods ranged from 5.0 (0.20) in Yam and Egg to 21.6 (0.2) in Eba & Okro
Nwanguma et al 44 Cross‐sectional study	Nigeria	Retail samples of white bread made from wheat flour	Chemical analysis	Mean salt content of bread samples expressed as g/100 g dry weight was 1.36. The contribution of bread to the recommended daily intake of salt varies from 0.99 to 3.33 g
Peters et al 52 Cross‐sectional study	South Africa	Processefd foods	Nutrition information panel (NIP)	The food groups with the highest median sodium level were snack foods (746 mg/100 g), followed by meat and meat products (734 mg/100 g), and sauces and spreads (673 mg/100 g). Food categories with the lowest sodium levels included several cereal products (eg, pasta, maize, rice, couscous; all <10 mg/100 g) and dairy products, excluding cheeses (all <100 mg/100 g). The median sodium level of foods targeted by the sodium legislation ranged from 171 mg/100 g for breakfast cereals and porridges to 4782 mg/100 g for dry soup powders.
Queiroz et al 39 Cross‐sectional study	Mozambique	Adult workers of the Maputo Central Hospital	24‐h dietary recall	Discretionary sodium contributed 60.1% of total dietary sodium intake, followed by sodium from processed foods (29.0%) and naturally occurring sodium (10.9%). Besides the use of salt added at the table (35% of the participants) and during cooking (96% of the participants), using stock powder when cooking or adding it to prepared food and salads was shown to be frequent in the present sample of the Mozambican population (70% of the participants)
Silva et al 40 Cross‐sectional study	Mozambique	White bread	Chemical analysis	Mean sodium content of bread available for purchase in the most commonly frequented bakeries and markets in Maputo was 450 mg/100 g
Spearing et al 53 Cross‐sectional study	South Africa	Meat‐based, starch‐based, and legume/vegetable‐based meals	24‐h dietary recalls	Mean sodium content of all 16 dishes ranged from 88 mg in “stifpap” to 679 mg per 100 g in “fried spinach.”
Swanepoel et al 54 Cross‐sectional study	South Africa	13 food categories Bread Raw‐processed meat sausages Processed meat—uncured Processed meat—cured All fat and butter spreads All breakfast cereals Savory snacks, excluding salt‐and‐vinegar flavored Flavored ready‐to‐eat savory snack and potato crisp, salt‐and‐vinegar only Dry savory powders with dry instant noodles to be mixed with a liquid Flavored potato crisp, excluding salt‐and‐vinegar Stock cubes/powder/granules/emulsions/pastes/jellies Dry gravy powders and dry instant savory sauces Dry soup powder (not instant type)	Chemical analysis	The majority of the food products tested comply with the targets for 2016 (72%) and almost half of the products with the 2019 targets (42%). The highest variation was observed in the “all fat and butter spread” (20%) category, as well as the “raw‐processed meat sausages” (32%). All of the food categories, except for “flavored potato crisp, excluding salt‐and‐vinegar” and “flavored ready‐to‐eat savory snack and potato crisp, salt‐and‐vinegar only,” complied with the 2016 target