01 April 2025
New WHO Guidelines recommend a new solution to an old problem – Switch the Salt!
In a landmark move addressing the world’s leading dietary risk factor for premature death, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has published new guidelines1 recommending that:
“when using table salt, consumers should opt instead for a potassium-enriched, lower-sodium salt.”
The official guidance (published January 27th, 2025) is incredibly welcomed, coming at a crucial time, as excessive sodium intake now contributes to 1.9 million deaths globally each year – with current reduction efforts falling short of targets…
• The 2013 WHO member commitment of reducing sodium intake by 30% by 2025 has not been met
• Globally, populations are consuming more than double the recommended maximum intake of sodium
• In the UK specifically, consumers are consuming 40% more sodium than the recommended maximum daily intake level of 6g/day, a staggering 68% more than the WHO maximum recommended intake level
Regardless of two decades of governmental sodium reduction programs, salt purchasing habits have remained largely unchanged, with UK shoppers purchasing the same amount of salt today as a decade ago (by volume). These habits signal the need for additional interventions beyond education and reformulation.
The WHO recommendation signals a crucial shift in global health strategy and positions potassium-enriched, lower-sodium salt substitutes at the forefront of public health initiatives.
Despite the clear health benefits, lower-sodium salts currently account for less than 3% of all salt sales in the UK, a situation that correlates directly with limited shelf space and visibility in retail environments.
We’re calling on retailers to help make the WHO recommended healthier option more accessible to everyone by reimagining the salt set: making lower-sodium salt alternatives a core product, and thus more visible over and above sea, rock and flavour salts.
Dr Bruce Neal, Executive Director at The George Institute for Global Health, says,
“It’s absolutely clear from multiple studies done in tens of thousands of people that making a like-for-like switch from regular table salt to potassium-enriched salt can lower blood pressure, as well as reduce the risks of stroke, cardiovascular events, and premature death. If we made a global switch of the salt supply from regular salt to potassium-enriched salt, we could prevent millions of strokes and heart attacks worldwide every year”
References
1 https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240105591