The Assessment of Availability, Formulation, Price and Its Risk Factors of Potassium-Enriched Low-Sodium Salt in China: Implications for Population-Level Salt Reduction

Background/objectives: Potassium-enriched lower-sodium salt substitutes (LSSS) offer consumers a practical way to increase potassium intake and decrease sodium intake, thereby reducing their risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. This risk reduction, however, depends on whether consumers can access affordable, evidence-based LSSS products. This study investigated the availability, formulation and price of LSSS in China. Methods: A cross-sectional salt survey was conducted across 195 supermarkets in 15 cities from 2023 to 2025 in China. Results: LSSS availability varied substantially by supermarket size: 90.9% of large (33), 88.9% of middle-sized (45), and only 53.0% of small supermarkets (117) stocked LSSS. Of 1861 total salt products surveyed, 310 were LSSS and 1551 were regular salt. A critical evidence–practice gap exists in product formulation: the mean potassium chloride (KCl) content among unique LSSS products was only 16.6%, with 53.4% of LSSS containing