Salt is a major determinant of population blood pressure levels. Salt intake in Costa Rica is above levels
required for good health. With an increasing number of Costa Ricans visiting fast food restaurants, it is
likely that fast-food is contributing to daily salt intake. Salt content data from seven popular fast food
chains in Costa Rica were collected in January 2013. Products were classified into 10 categories. Mean
salt content was compared between chains and categories. Statistical analysis was performed usingWelch
ANOVA and Tukey–Kramer HSD tests. Significant differences were found between companies; Subway
products had lowest mean salt content (0.97 g/100 g; p < 0.05) while Popeye’s and KFC had the highest
(1.57 g/100 g; p < 0.05). Significant variations in mean salt content were observed between categories.
Salads had a mean salt content of 0.45 g/100 g while sauces had 2.16 g/100 g (p < 0.05). Wide variation
in salt content was also seen within food categories. Salt content in sandwiches ranged from 0.5 to 2.1 g/
100 g. The high levels and wide variation in salt content of fast food products in Costa Rica suggest that
salt reduction is likely to be technically feasible in many cases. With an increasing number of consumers
purchasing fast foods, even small improvements in salt levels could produce important health gains.
© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND