Street Food in Malaysia: What Are the Sodium Levels?
Hasnah Haron,
Zainorain Natasha Zainal Arifen,
Suzana Shahar,
Hamdan Mohamad,
Siti Farrah Zaidah Mohd Yazid,
Viola Michael,
Rabindra Abeyasinghe,
Tanaka Taketo,
Kathy Trieu
Affiliations
Hasnah Haron
Nutritional Sciences Programme, Centre for Healthy Ageing and Wellness (H-Care), Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
Zainorain Natasha Zainal Arifen
Nutritional Sciences Programme, Centre for Healthy Ageing and Wellness (H-Care), Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
Suzana Shahar
Dietetic Programme, Centre for Healthy Ageing and Wellness (H-Care), Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
Hamdan Mohamad
Non-Communicable Disease Section, Disease Control Division, Ministry of Health, Malaysia, Putrajaya 62584, Malaysia
Siti Farrah Zaidah Mohd Yazid
Non-Communicable Disease Section, Disease Control Division, Ministry of Health, Malaysia, Putrajaya 62584, Malaysia
Viola Michael
Enforcement Section, Allied Health Sciences Division, Ministry of Health, Malaysia, Putrajaya 62050, Malaysia
Rabindra Abeyasinghe
Representative Office for Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Singapore, World Health Organization, Cyberjaya 63000, Malaysia
Tanaka Taketo
Representative Office for Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Singapore, World Health Organization, Cyberjaya 63000, Malaysia
Kathy Trieu
The George Institute for Global Health, Newtown, NSW 2042, Australia
Street food is a major source of food in middle- and low-income countries as it is highly accessible and inexpensive. However, it is usually perceived as unhealthy due to the high levels of sodium, sugar, and fat content. However, there is little analytical data on the sodium levels in the street foods of Malaysia. This study started with a survey to determine the most frequently available street foods in every state in Malaysia, followed by food sampling and the analysis of sodium (reported mg/100 g sample). Street food in the snack category contained the highest amount of sodium (433 mg), followed by main meals (336.5 mg) and desserts (168 mg). Approximately 30% of the local street food in this study was deep-fried. Snacks from processed food (8%) contained high sodium content (500–815 mg). Fried noodles and noodle soup contained the highest amount of sodium (>2000 mg sodium) based on per serving. Most main dishes that use a variety of sauces contained high amounts of sodium. These findings were recorded in the Malaysian Food Composition Database. Moreover, this study could raise awareness and serve as baseline data for future interventions on the sodium content in the street foods of Malaysia.
