Nigeria’s food and drug regulator has sounded the alarm over excessive salt consumption in the country, warning that the growing reliance on processed and pre-packaged foods is fuelling a dangerous rise in hypertension and other life-threatening conditions.

The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Mojisola Adeyeye, gave the warning at a stakeholders’ engagement on the draft Reduction of Sodium in Pre-Packaged Foods Regulations 2026. She described high sodium intake as one of the leading dietary risk factors for preventable deaths, both in Nigeria and globally, and pointed to the World Health Organisation’s position that reducing sodium consumption is among the most cost-effective ways to bring down premature mortality from non-communicable diseases.

The scale of the problem was laid bare by Eva Edwards, Director of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at NAFDAC, who revealed that Nigerians consume an average of 10 grams of salt daily — almost double the WHO’s recommended limit of five grams. That gap, health experts say, is not accidental. Adeyeye attributed the trend to rapid urbanisation, shifting dietary habits, and a growing dependence on processed foods, particularly in cities. Pre-packaged products, she noted, now account for a significant share of daily diets in urban Nigeria, and while they offer convenience, they carry a heavy sodium burden that many consumers are unaware of.

Public health experts at the meeting, including specialists from the Cardiovascular Unit of the University of Abuja, reinforced the gravity of the situation, warning that excess sodium in the diet is directly tied to hypertension, stroke, kidney disease, and heart failure. Nutritionists have also flagged that the problem is no longer confined to adults children and young people are increasingly being exposed to high-sodium processed foods, with hypertension now being recorded among teenagers and young adults at a worrying rate.

To tackle this, NAFDAC is proposing regulations that would set maximum sodium limits for specific food categories, require manufacturers to clearly label sodium content on packaging, and push the industry to gradually reformulate their products to healthier standards. The phased reduction strategy begins with a 15 percent cut, in line with WHO’s broader target of achieving a 30 percent reduction in population-level sodium consumption by 2030.

Adeyeye was clear, however, that regulation alone cannot solve the problem. She stressed that the food industry must be a willing partner in the effort, reformulating products without compromising on quality or safety. Experts also called for complementary measures such as subsidising fresh produce, introducing prominent warning labels on high-salt products, and educating the public on the hidden sodium content in everyday packaged foods.