The nutrient quality, sodium content and compliance of savoury snacks and potato crisps in Durban

Abstract

South Africans consume a significantly high amount of sodium from salty snacks. The study aimed to evaluate salty snack manufacturers' compliance with the June 2016 and 2019 target date for sodium reduction as set out by the Department of Health in Regulation 214. It also aimed to assess low sodium claims made on selected products and determine if the sodium claim is compliant with the labelling legislation. The study focuses on flavoured potato chips, flavoured ready-to-eat savoury snacks and salt and vinegar-only potato chips and savoury snacks. The study applied an observational descriptive research design. The aspects under observation were nutrition labels from the above items. The products were sampled from five major retailers in Durban using convenience sampling methods. A total sample of 90 products belonging to the above categories was considered. Sodium content information was collected from the selected product packages. The study also applied the Association of Official Analytical Chemists’ (AOAC) official method 984.27 in laboratory tests to verify low sodium claims on the sampled products. In terms of compliance, the study showed that out of the 90 selected snacks, 26% of the snacks did not meet their 2019 targets, while 4% did not meet their 2016 targets. Fisher’s exact tests showed that no snack category had a better inclination towards meeting 2019 tests than others. In the flavoured ready-to-eat savoury snack category, 7.5% of the 40 varieties did not meet their 2016 target of 800mg Na/100g, while 27.5% did not meet their 700mg Na/100g target for 2019. In the flavoured potato chips group, all 40 varieties met their 2016 target of 650mg/100 while 20% did not meet their 2019 target. In the salt and vinegar chips category, 9 varieties or 90% met their 2016 target of 1000mg Na/100g, while 40% of the 10 varieties did not meet their 2019 target of 850mg Na/100g. Generally, most snacks met their 2016 and 2019 targets, but a concerning proportion failed to do so. The laboratory tests showed that 4.4% of the products made a compliant low sodium nutrient claim (sodium levels below 120mg Na/100g). The findings from laboratory tests show that 4 of these were indeed low sodium content products, although their claimed sodium content was slightly higher than reported from independent laboratory tests. The findings also show that 1 product had a label indicating low sodium content although it had sodium content far above the low sodium limit. The findings show the potential errors and misrepresentations in sodium content labelling in savoury snacks. Among other things, the study recommended increased product compliance monitoring and evaluation, using standardised, rigorous sodium testing and measuring systems, using more consumer-friendly labels and consumer education on sodium labelling.