To assess changes in (1) sodium content of processed foods in the Canadian food supply and (2) the proportion of products meeting Health Canada’s voluntary sodium reduction targets (SRTs) between 2010 and 2020.

This repeated, cross-sectional study used foods from the 2010 (n=6,929), 2013 (n=9,366), 2017 (n=10,324), and 2020 (n=15,797) collections of the University of Toronto’s Food Label Information and Price database, categorized into Health Canada’s sodium categories. Quantile regression was used to assess changes in sodium content. Firth’s bias-reduced logistic regression was used to evaluate changes in the proportion of foods meeting the SRTs and trends were assessed with Cochran-Armitage tests.

Canada.

Processed foods.

Between 2010-2020, 54% (7/13) of major categories had a left shift (reduction) in their sodium distribution, 15% (2/13) had a right shift (increase), 15% (2/13) had both a left and right shift, and 15% (2/13) did not change. The proportion of products meeting the average targets and maximum levels increased 6% and 4% from 2010-2013 and 4% and 3% from 2013-2017, then decreased 3% and 1% between 2017-2020, with trends for improvement over time (p-trend<0.001).

Although many categories decreased in sodium, some did not change or increased in sodium and improvements in the proportion of products meeting the SRTs were modest and occurred early on. Further actions, such as implementing accountability initiatives that promote industry adherence to voluntary SRTs or introducing mandatory measures, alongside frequent and transparent monitoring are needed to reduce sodium in processed foods in Canada.