Turkey is one of the few countries that has conducted a nationally representative 24-hour sodium urinary excretion study, which is considered the most reliable technique for estimating salt consumption. While average salt consumption in most countries of the WHO European Region is estimated to be 8�12 g/day, the first such survey in Turkey, SALTuk1 conducted in 2008, indicated that salt consumption was 18 g/day per adult inhabitant. The study was repeated in 2012, and the results pointed to a 16 per cent decrease to 15 g/day.
The Government programme includes the three major components recommended by WHO for reduction of salt intake: monitoring, major reformulation actions and awareness raising.