# Strategies for Reducing Sodium Intake in Bakery Products, a Review
## 2 The Physiological Role of Sodium Chloride and Legislative Recommendations on Its Consumption
### Sodium Chloride Content on Bakery Products and Their Degree of Consumption  
The main source of salt in food in most European countries is generally foodstuffs such as bakery products, followed by meat and meat products, cheese and dairy products [23; 24; 25]. Bakery products have a major contribution to the daily intake of sodium in the diet, along with other products obtained from cereals such as biscuits, cakes, breakfast cereals, pastries, noodles, cereal bars, etc. The origin of sodium in these products is caused by the addition of sodium chloride to obtain them but also other raw materials and ingredients used. For example, a source of sodium is also ingredients such as baking powder or leavening agents [26]. It was found that the daily consumption of 150 g of bread containing 20 g of salt/kg of flour contributes with 25% of the average amount of salt consumed, which is 10 g/day/person. Broad is thus the main food contributor to the sodium chloride intake in the diet. Per capita, bread consumption varied between EU countries. The highest bread consumption was reported in Turkey (104 kg per year) and Bulgaria (95 kg) while the lowest one was reported in Great Britain (32 kg). It seems that the average consumption of bread by European people are 59 kg per year. Broad consumption is generally stable but in some countries such as Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Poland has been reported a slightly decrease. In 2015, in Poland, the bread consumption was of 145 g of bread daily. Thus, consumption of 145 g of wheat bagetues provides 4.4 g of salt per day, covering 87% of the maximum daily salt requirement given by the WHO. However, other types of bread consumption provide 1.6-2.2 g of salt, covering 32-44% of the demand [2]. According to the studies made on several European countries it was concluded that in Ireland bread accounts for 25.9% of total salt intake, in Turkey 25.5%, in Belgium 24.8%, in France 24.2%, in Spain 19.1% and in the UK 19% [12]. Compared to other European countries, in Romania, bread represents 30% of the total salt intake, which indicates a higher value compared to other European countries [27]. According to consumer taste tests, it was reported that the optimal salt content for white wheat flour bread was between 1.29% and 1.43%. In contrast, a similar study in Argentina reported a value of 1.74%, which was much higher than expected and could be due to some geographical preferences. There are major differences in the salt content of different types of bread. In France, for example, bread contains an average of 1.7% NaCl. This amount is found in bread, country style, French bagetute whereas in croissant, puff pastry and sweet bakery products the amount of salt is lower of an average of 1.3 and 1% respectively [1]. In the UK bread has only 1.0% salt [12] whether it is white or brown whereas in the fruit buns, plain cake and fruited cake the amount of salt is lower between 0.32-0.72%. In Ireland, the amount of salt in bread is 1.10% in white bread and 1.09% in brown bread and in Germany the amount of salt in all types of bread and rolls is between 1.0-2.9% [1]. In Italy, the salt content of bread varies from 0.7 to 2.3% for artisanal bread and from 1.1 to 2.2% for bread produced to the industrial level [28] and in Spain all types of bread have an amount of 1.63% salt [1]. Thus, the bread contribution to salt consumption highly differs depending on the type and location. In Romania, the salt content of bread varies depending on its type from 0.17% for non-salt bread and 1.79% for potato bread. An important factor in the salt variation of bread is its type. Thus, for example, baguette bread has a lower salt content and potato bread a higher salt content.