{"title":"Accuracy of Declared Salt Content on Traffic Light Labelling of Nuts and Seeds in Isfahan, Iran","authors":"Fatemeh Shirani, Seyedeh Mahsa Khodaei, Mojtba Akbari, Razieh Eshaghi, M. Siavash, Zahra Esfandiari","doi":"10.34172/jrhs.2024.151","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Background: Regarding the importance of the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and higher consumption of salt among the Iranian population than the level recommended by the World Health Organization, the aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the salt mentioned in the traffic light labelling of nuts and seeds. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: A total of 53 packaged nuts and seeds, including 7, 8, 9, 9, 10, and 10 samples of pumpkin, pistachios, almond, sunflower, peanut, and watermelon nuts and seeds, respectively, with traffic light labelling, were randomly purchased from several local markets in Isfahan, Iran. The amount of sodium was measured by the inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy technique and then multiplied by 2.5 to achieve the amount of salt. Results: Varying levels of traffic light labeling value accuracy were observed in most of the samples. In the almond, pistachio, peanut, and watermelon groups, the average amount of laboratory value had a statistically significant difference with the label value (P<0.05). Conclusion: The results demonstrated that the salt content of 82% of the studied samples had discrepancies with the values stated on the traffic light labelling. The presentation of an accurate amount of salt content is essential for promoting healthy eating habits and enabling individuals to make informed choices about their diet. It is recommended that regulatory authorities should review labelling guidelines and enforce stricter compliance to ensure accurate representation of salt content on packaged foods.","PeriodicalId":17164,"journal":{"name":"Journal of research in health sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of research in health sciences","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.34172/jrhs.2024.151","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Regarding the importance of the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and higher consumption of salt among the Iranian population than the level recommended by the World Health Organization, the aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the salt mentioned in the traffic light labelling of nuts and seeds. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: A total of 53 packaged nuts and seeds, including 7, 8, 9, 9, 10, and 10 samples of pumpkin, pistachios, almond, sunflower, peanut, and watermelon nuts and seeds, respectively, with traffic light labelling, were randomly purchased from several local markets in Isfahan, Iran. The amount of sodium was measured by the inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy technique and then multiplied by 2.5 to achieve the amount of salt. Results: Varying levels of traffic light labeling value accuracy were observed in most of the samples. In the almond, pistachio, peanut, and watermelon groups, the average amount of laboratory value had a statistically significant difference with the label value (P<0.05). Conclusion: The results demonstrated that the salt content of 82% of the studied samples had discrepancies with the values stated on the traffic light labelling. The presentation of an accurate amount of salt content is essential for promoting healthy eating habits and enabling individuals to make informed choices about their diet. It is recommended that regulatory authorities should review labelling guidelines and enforce stricter compliance to ensure accurate representation of salt content on packaged foods.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Research in Health Sciences (JRHS) is the official journal of the School of Public Health; Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, which is published quarterly. Since 2017, JRHS is published electronically. JRHS is a peer-reviewed, scientific publication which is produced quarterly and is a multidisciplinary journal in the field of public health, publishing contributions from Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Public Health, Occupational Health, Environmental Health, Health Education, and Preventive and Social Medicine. We do not publish clinical trials, nursing studies, animal studies, qualitative studies, nutritional studies, health insurance, and hospital management. In addition, we do not publish the results of laboratory and chemical studies in the field of ergonomics, occupational health, and environmental health