The National Program for the Promotion of Healthy Eating (PNPAS) of the DGS, whose annual report was released today, analyzed the nutritional composition of 2,743 food products, with most belonging to the categories of fresh dairy products and desserts (29%) and soft drinks and other beverages (27%).

Speaking to the Lusa agency, the director of PNPAS, Maria João Gregório, stated that "some relevant conclusions" can be drawn from this analysis, namely that packaged bakery products already have average salt contents that are not much higher than one gram of salt per 100 grams of product, the limit established with the industry and with the distribution and baking sectors.

According to the analysis, of the 101 sweet pastry products and 128 bakery products evaluated, it was found that 42% (54) had a salt content higher than 1g/100g (value defined in the agreement for the reformulation of food products for the maximum salt content in bread).

However, the nutritionist pointed out, there are other categories that need to be improved, namely in delicatessen products and breakfast cereals, in which high levels of salt and sugar were detected, respectively.

Of the 308 breakfast cereals analyzed, the majority (186) had a value higher than 15 grams of sugar per 100 grams of product (cut-off value defined by the Portuguese Nutritional Profile Model for restrictions on food advertising aimed at children under 16).

"On the other hand, it is noteworthy that 92% of breakfast cereals (284) have a salt content of less than 1 g per 100 g, the maximum value defined for this category of products in the commitment to reformulate food products made between the DGS and the food and distribution industry", the report highlights.

According to Maria João Gregório, there is also an agreement with the industry to reduce the average sugar content, a path that is being followed, although it is necessary to continue working with these sectors so that in the future the market can have products with "a more adequate nutritional profile".

Of the 598 delicatessen products and similar products analyzed, 88% had a salt content higher than 1.5 g/100 g, which corresponds to a high salt content, "with the average salt content for this category being considerably higher than this value (2.83 g/100 g)", according to the document.

640 yogurts and 90 dairy desserts or similar were also analyzed. In the case of yogurts with added sugar, an average sugar content of 13.35 grams per 100 g was found, a value higher than that defined for this category.

The director of the DGS program explained that this analysis is part of a European monitoring system and was carried out in Portugal and in 13 other European Union countries.

The objective is to establish a European system that allows us to monitor the nutritional composition of food because the recommendation is that countries adopt measures to improve the nutritional profile of these products, she stressed.

One of the measures foreseen in the PNPAS 2022-2023 is the adoption of a simplified nutritional labeling system on the front of food packaging, with the analysis having verified that around 25% of the products analyzed already have a system.

Of the products that have simplified nutritional labeling, the majority use Nutri-Score (40%), followed by the Reference Doses Label (31%) and the Nutritional Traffic Light (28%)

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