Salt Content Calculator (Sodium ⇔ Salt Equivalent)

＋More features: salt in the amount you actually eat, and a daily total tracker

Salt in the amount you eat, from a “per 100 g” label

For foods whose nutrition label is given “per 100 g”, this calculates the salt equivalent contained in the amount you actually eat.

Salt equivalent per 100 g (g) Amount you actually eat (g)

Track your salt total for the day

Enter the salt equivalent (g) of what you ate today (up to 6 items) to get the total and how much is left until the daily target.

Item 1 g Item 2 g Item 3 g Item 4 g Item 5 g Item 6 g

Sex (target category)

What this tool tells you

Instantly see how many grams of salt the “sodium X mg” printed on a food package equals. It also shows the share of Japan’s daily targets (under 7.5 g for men, under 6.5 g for women) at the same time. The factor and targets are the Japanese standards used on food labels and in health guidance in Japan — handy for reading labels while cutting down on salt.

How to use

Find the amount of “sodium” (mg) in the nutrition label on the food package.
As you type the number, the salt equivalent (g) and the share of the daily target appear below — no button needed.
The reverse conversion (salt equivalent → sodium) can be selected from the dropdown.

How it is calculated

Salt equivalent (g) = sodium (mg) × 2.54 ÷ 1000
The factor 2.54 is the molecular weight of salt (NaCl, 58.5) divided by the atomic weight of sodium (23), as set by Japan’s Food Labeling Standards.
Example: sodium 1,200 mg → 1,200 × 2.54 ÷ 1000 = about 3.0 g of salt equivalent
The daily targets (salt equivalent) in Japan are under 7.5 g for adult men and under 6.5 g for adult women.

Sources (primary information)

Conversion factor (2.54): Food Labeling Standards (Cabinet Office Ordinance No. 10 of 2015) (in Japanese)
Daily targets: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), “Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese” (in Japanese) (adult targets for salt equivalent: under 7.5 g/day for men, under 6.5 g/day for women)

Assumptions and notes

Current nutrition labels in Japan normally state “salt equivalent” directly, but older labels and imported foods may still list “sodium”.
If a doctor has put you on a salt restriction (for high blood pressure, kidney disease and so on), follow the figure you were given.

Frequently asked questions

Are sodium and salt the same thing?

No. Salt (sodium chloride) is a compound of sodium and chlorine, and by weight sodium is only about 40% of salt. That is why a sodium figure looks smaller than the salt equivalent: “sodium 400 mg” is about 1 g of salt.

How much of a day’s salt is in one cup of instant noodles?

It depends on the product, but if you drink all the soup many contain around 5 g of salt equivalent — close to 80% of the daily target for adult women (under 6.5 g). Leaving the soup cuts that by roughly 20–30%.

Is this different from the WHO recommendation?

The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends under 5 g per day for adults, which is stricter than Japan’s targets (under 7.5 g for men, under 6.5 g for women). Japan’s targets were set with feasibility from current eating habits in mind.