According to new food consumption data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Australians don’t buy enough fruit or vegetables. Alas, they do buy too much food that is high in salt.

The report Apparent Consumption of seleced Foodstuffs, Australia, 2018–19, represents sales of foods from supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience and speciality stores. These have been compared to recommendations in the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines.

ABS Director of Health, Caitlin Szigetvari: “The apparent daily consumption of fruit was below the recommended average two serves per day, at 1.5 serves per person. In comparison, vegetables were well below the recommended average five serves per day, at just 2.3 serves. The average daily amount of apparent sodium consumption was 3,140 milligrams per person. This is 1.6 times the recommended daily intake of 2,000 milligrams per person.”

High intakes of sodium can increase blood pressure, which can increase the risk of developing heart and kidney disease. Typically consumed as table salt, sodium is also found naturally in a variety of food products.