Introduction: excess salt intake is associated to the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Bread is one of the foods that contributes the most salt to the diet in Spain. It is important to monitor the salt content of bread.
Objective: to quantify the amount of salt in bread in Spain in 2014, and to compare it to the amount of salt in 2008.
Methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted in Spain in 2014, and 1,137 loaves of bread (three types: barra, a Spanish style, similar in shape to a baguette; baguettes and wholemeal) were purchased at bakeries with and without on-site workrooms and at supermarkets in all of Spain's autonomous communities. Salt content (g/100 g bread) was estimated by determining total sodium. In one subsample, mean salt content was estimated by determining chlorides; it was compared to previous data of 2008 salt content (chloride determination).
Results: the mean salt content was 2.08 g/100 g (SD: 0.32) with a minimum value of 0.30 and a maximum of 3.33. The mean salt content was similar in barraand baguette-type breads (2.09 g/100 g) and somewhat lower in wholemeal. The mean salt was 2.07 g/100 g in breads made with fresh dough and 2.12 g/100 g in breads made with frozen dough. The mean salt content (chlorides) was 1.64 g/100 g (SD: 0.42) in 2014 and 1.63 g/100 g (SD: 0.37) in 2008. This was not a significant difference (p = 0.428).
Conclusions: the amount of salt in common bread in Spain remains stable from 2008.