ITASCA, ILL. — While 64% of respondents in a survey from the Ajinomoto Group released March 3 said they knew eating too much sodium is bad for them, 37% said they pay attention to how much sodium they consume.
Taste could play a role in those findings as 55% of the respondents in the global SALTS (sodium alternatives and long-term solution) survey said low-sodium food is tasteless and 83% said they prioritize taste over everything else when deciding what to eat.
Sodium ranked sixth out of 10 choices when respondents were asked to name their top food and nutrition priorities. Food and nutrients such as vegetables, protein and fruit ranked ahead of sodium globally. In the United States the top three priorities were the amount of sugar, vegetables and protein.
Edelman Dxl conducted the survey for Ajinomoto between Aug. 31 and Sept 22, 2021. An online survey consisted of 7,090 interviews among consumers in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand and Brazil. The margin of error was plus-or-minus 1.2% for all figures on the global level and plus-or-minus 3.1% for all figures on the country level.
“Successfully driving sodium reduction will require cooperation across food and beverage companies, national governments and health professionals with the ultimate goal to encourage diets that are nutritious, taste great and meet sodium targets,” said Tia Rains, PhD, vice president of customer engagement and strategic development at Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America, Inc., which is part of the Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
