WHO Updates SHAKE Technical Package on Sodium Reduction Policies

The World Health Organization released the second edition of its SHAKE the salt habit technical package today, during Salt Awareness Week 2026. The update aims to accelerate national efforts to reduce high salt consumption, which most people worldwide cannot control because of their food environments.

Average global sodium intake is estimated to be more than twice the WHO recommended limit of 2000 mg per day, equivalent to 5 g of salt or about one teaspoon.

7 million deaths in 2023. The world remains off track to meet the global sodium reduction target of 30% by 2030. Currently only 28% of the world population live in countries with mandatory sodium reduction policies.

The updated SHAKE package places strong emphasis on mandatory, government-led approaches and a structured programme model. It includes guidance on managing conflicts of interest with the food industry and states that the industry should not set public health policy.

Dr Luz Maria De Regil, Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at WHO, said excess salt consumption remains among the top preventable drivers of death globally.

“Excess salt consumption remains among the top preventable drivers of death globally, and implementing mandatory policies to reduce sodium intake is one of the most cost-effective actions countries can take to protect people from cardiovascular disease,” she said.

De Regil added that the updated package equips countries with practical tools. “With the updated SHAKE the salt habit, WHO is equipping countries with practical, evidence-based tools to take decisive, government-led action and prevent millions of deaths each year,” she said.

The SHAKE package is defined by the acronym Surveillance, Harness industry, Adopt standards for labelling and marketing, Knowledge and Environment. It includes food reformulation which sets maximum limits or targets for the sodium content of pre-packaged foods. It also includes front-of-pack labelling which provides interpretive information about sodium content, alongside mandatory declaration.

Additional measures in the package are food procurement and service policies which limit high-sodium foods in public settings, food marketing restriction policies to protect children, taxation of unhealthy food, behaviour change communication and mass media campaigns, and lower-sodium salt substitutes to replace regular table salt in appropriate settings.

Xi Yin, Coordinator, Health Promotion and Policy unit and Acting Lead for the Nutrition and Food Safety unit in the Division of Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Control of the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, described the resource as immediately usable.

“The second edition of SHAKE offers a practical menu of measures that countries can readily apply, with clear, step-by-step guidance, and strong opportunities to scale up mandatory approaches to reduce persistently high salt intake across the region,” Xi Yin said.

Xi Yin noted that some nations have already acted on the earlier version. “Several countries in the Western Pacific Region have drawn on SHAKE to inform their salt reduction efforts, grounded in country-specific data and experience, and we look forward to many more following their lead,” Xi Yin said.

@WHO reported that the updated package brings together the latest evidence-based guidance, practical tools and country examples compiled through an extensive collaborative process.

It provides detailed annexes on data collection, enforcement, and countering common industry arguments. The release responds to food environments where high levels of sodium are embedded in processed, packaged foods and often street food.