A cross sectional study of salt content in bakery bread in Zagreb, Croatia

Reducing salt content in bread is the essential part of a national strategy for salt reduction with the goal of long-term national general health improvement. In this study we have analysed salt content in three types of bread available in 25 small and five national industrial bakeries in Zagreb, Croatia. Samples of white wheat bread, dark wheat bread, and other types of bread were collected, and the salt content was determined with the Mohr method. Salt content varied widely between bakeries, with an average content of 2.30 +/- 0.22 g per 100 g of bread, which is almost twice the threshold content (1.4 %) defined by the Croatian National Regulation on Cereals and Cereal Products. Further efforts are necessary to teach bakers how to reduce salt content without affecting quality or flavour. These should go hand in hand with continuous monitoring of how the legal provisions are implemented.