BACKGROUND :

Excess salt (sodium) consumption is harmful to health. Too much sodium in our foods leads to high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke and untimely death. The Thai population consumes about 4,320 mg sodium per day or almost twice as much salt as WHO recommended levels (2,000 mg per day). Consequently, one out of four Thais have hypertension. Sodium reduction is a very cost-effective strategy. Every USD dollar invested in sodium reduction yields 12 US dollars in return. WHO recommends multipronged action for sodium reduction include effective food labelling, reformulation, public awareness, surveillance and monitoring among others. Strategize and accelerate sodium reduction efforts across concerned partners in Thailand is critical to ensure that Thailand will achieve the committed global target of 30% reduction in population sodium intake by 2025 and saves lives of Thais from the premature death from NCDs.