Salt equivalent explained

Salt equivalent is usually quoted on food nutrition information tables on food labels, and is a different way of defining sodium intake, noting that salt is chemically sodium chloride.

To convert from sodium to the approximate salt equivalent, multiply sodium content by 2.5:

(m _{NaCl})/(m _{Na}) = (m _{Na+m} _{Cl})/(m _{Na}) ≈ (23 u +35 . 5 u)/(23 u) = (58 . 5)/(23) ≈ 2 . 5

(see: atomic mass and molecular mass).

Sources

• British Nutrition Foundation article on salt