Every number on Low Sodium List is a package's own. This page says where it comes from, what is worked out from it and what can have changed since.
Where a number comes from
From the Nutrition Facts of the package. Most labels are the ones makers report to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's FoodData Central; the others were read off packages by shoppers for Open Food Facts. Nothing is estimated, and a food without a sodium figure or a serving size on record is not listed. Both sources and their dates are on the Sources page.
What is worked out
- % Daily Value is the sodium in one serving divided by 2,300 mg, the Daily Value for sodium on US packages.
- Sodium in the same amount puts every package on the amount federal labeling rules use to compare that food (the reference amount in 21 CFR 101.12), because serving sizes differ from package to package.
- The level tag follows the federal definitions in 21 CFR 101.61: low sodium is 140 mg or less in that amount, very low sodium 35 mg or less, sodium free under 5 mg there and in the package's own serving. A food with a small serving is tested on 50 g: its page shows the same lines for its own amount (84 mg and 21 mg in 30 g). A package whose label gives its serving only in mL gets no tag, because that label does not say what 50 g holds. The tag goes by the numbers; a package may or may not print those words.
- What most packages have is the range that holds the middle of the list, leaving out the lowest tenth and the highest tenth.
How current the numbers are
The labels are those in the USDA release of October 29, 2026 and in Open Food Facts on November 12, 2026. A list opens with packages from 2024 or later; older ones can be added with one tap and are marked as older. Makers change recipes, so check the package in your hand before you rely on a number.
Not advice
These are package numbers. How much sodium is right for you is for your doctor or dietitian to say.