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Most packaged food products carry a nutrition label which, in line with current legislation, states the amount of sodium rather than salt. To work out the equivalent amount of salt, multiply the sodium value by 2.5 (eg 1.2g sodium is equivalent to 3.0g salt).
Some packs also provide a 'salt equivalent' figure based on this calculation, as shown in this example.
In 2004, manufacturers committed through the Food and Health
Manifesto to voluntarily put salt equivalence information on labels
alongside the legally required sodium declaration. A survey of our
members shows that by the end of last year products worth £15bn
at retail carried salt equivalence information.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION for chicken and vegetable bake
| Typical values |
per 100g |
per 350g pack |
| Energy - kJ |
480kJ |
1680kJ |
| - kcal |
115 kcal |
405 kcal |
| Protein |
9.5g |
33.3g |
| Carbohydrate |
8.6g |
30.1g |
| of which sugars |
3.5g |
12.3g |
| Fat |
4.6g |
16.1g |
| of which saturates |
2.0g |
7.0g |
| Fibre |
1.5g |
5.3g |
| Sodium* |
0.3g |
1.1g |
| *Equivalent as salt |
0.8g |
2.8g |
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) suggests using the following rules of thumb to judge a little or a lot of sodium in ready-prepared foods:
- 0.5 g sodium or more per 100g of food = a lot
- 0.1 g sodium or less per 100g of food = a little Source: FSA
However, take account of the portion size of the food you eat to help gauge the amount of sodium. For example, certain foods, such as yeast extracts, are relatively high in sodium but are eaten in very small quantities as an average serving is 4g.
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