Hong Kong authorities hail scheme for reducing sodium levels in bread by average of up to 17%

Hong Kong authorities have hailed a health scheme that encouraged bread manufacturers to cut sodium levels by an average of up to 17 per cent, following a report that found most adults in the city consume more salt than the recommended daily intake.

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) said on Wednesday that, since the scheme was rolled out in 2019, all participating bread manufacturers have met the voluntary sodium reduction targets for their white and wholemeal bread products.

They include seven manufacturers of pre-packaged bread and 19 manufacturers of non-packaged bread, which together produce about 80 types of white and wholemeal bread products, according to the CFS, an agency under the Food and Environmental Department.

Under the scheme, manufacturers are encouraged to keep the level of sodium in white bread at below 380 milligrams for every 100 grams of white bread, with a cap of 490 milligrams.

For every 100 grams of wholemeal bread, the average sodium level should not exceed 380 milligrams. The maximum level is 470 milligrams, according to the guidelines.

“After the implementation of the Scheme, the average sodium content of related bread products decreased by 10 per cent to 17 per cent, with some manufacturers successfully reducing the sodium content of their products by more than 40 per cent,” a spokesperson for the CFS said in the statement on Wednesday, which is World Heart Day.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that an adult should not exceed five grams of salt intake per day, equivalent to 2000 milligrams of sodium.

According to a survey conducted by the Department of Health between 2020 and 2022, Hongkongers aged 15 to 84 had a daily salt intake of 8.4 grams.

The survey also found that more than 80 per cent of Hongkongers aged 15 to 84 had a salt intake above the WHO recommended daily limit.

High salt intake increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke by raising blood pressure.

“As we observe World Heart Day, the CFS reminds the public of the importance of reducing sodium intake in lowering the risk of high blood pressure, thereby promoting heart health and preventing cardiovascular diseases,” the government agency said.

It added that it had provided training and testing for bread manufacturers to reformulate their products to reduce sodium levels.

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Hans Tse is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press with an interest in local politics, academia, and media transformation. He was previously a social science researcher, with writing published in the Social Movement Studies and Social Transformation of Chinese Societies journals. He holds an M.Phil in communication from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Before joining HKFP, he also worked as a freelance reporter for Initium between 2019 and 2021, where he covered the height - and aftermath - of the 2019 protests, as well as the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020.