Values are for the food as described — most dietary sodium comes from processing and salt added later.
Every figure here is per 100 g of the food, not per serving. That makes foods comparable to each other, but it is not how anyone eats: 100 g of a dried spice and 100 g of a leafy green are very different portions, so a high position in this list does not tell you what a meal contributes.
Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.
% DV compares the per-100 g amount with the FDA Daily Value of 2300 mg for adults and children aged 4 and over. It is a labelling reference, not a personal target.
24 entries with a measured sodium value, highest first.
Soybeans fermented with Aspergillus oryzae koji, salt and usually a grain, for anywhere from weeks to years. Longer ferments…
162% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Engraulis encrasicolus
Tiny oily fish usually sold salt-cured and packed in oil, where months of curing dissolves the flesh into an intensely savoury…
159% of the Daily Value per 100 g
A hard cheese aged a year or more, during which enzymes break down protein into free amino acids and the crystalline tyrosine…
51% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Shredded cabbage salted and left to ferment under its own brine, where lactic acid bacteria already on the leaves acidify it…
29% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Penaeus spp.
Decapod crustaceans, the most traded seafood in the world by value and now largely farmed. Their shells contain astaxanthin bound…
25% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Salted napa cabbage layered with chilli, garlic, ginger and usually a seafood element, then fermented by the bacteria native to…
22% of the Daily Value per 100 g
A fresh, unripened cheese made by acidifying milk and draining the curd without pressing, leaving the loose grains in a little…
13% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Sardina pilchardus
Small schooling fish canned whole with their soft, edible bones intact. Being short-lived plankton feeders low in the food chain,…
13% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Mytilus edulis
Rope- or bottom-grown bivalves that need no feed input, making them one of the lowest-impact animal foods produced. They open…
12% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Syzygium aromaticum
The dried flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum, one of the most aromatic spices in common use. The USDA entry is per 100 g of…
12% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris
A leafy form of the same species as beetroot, grown for its leaves and thick stalks rather than its root. The coloured stems owe…
9% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Animal bones and connective tissue simmered for many hours, which hydrolyses collagen into gelatin and gives the cooled liquid…
9% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Cuminum cyminum
The dried seed of Cuminum cyminum, used whole or ground across South Asian, Middle Eastern and Latin American cooking. The USDA…
7% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Crocus sativus
The dried stigmas of the Crocus sativus flower, harvested by hand and the most expensive spice by weight. The USDA entry is per…
6% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Gallus gallus domesticus
A complete package of protein, fat and micronutrients built to grow a chick, split between a protein-and-water white and a…
6% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Meleagris gallopavo
The white pectoral muscle of the domestic turkey, leaner and larger-grained than chicken breast. Fresh roasting joints and…
5% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Cocos nucifera
The clear liquid from inside a young green coconut, distinct from coconut milk, which is pressed from the mature flesh. It is a…
5% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Gallus gallus domesticus
Dark leg meat, richer in myoglobin, fat and connective tissue than breast because these are the muscles the bird actually uses.…
4% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Scomber scombrus
A fast-swimming oily fish with dark, strongly flavoured flesh that spoils quickly and is therefore often smoked or canned. It is…
4% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Crassostrea virginica
Filter-feeding bivalve molluscs, farmed and wild-harvested, whose flavour tracks the water they grew in closely enough that…
4% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Apium graveolens
The fibrous leaf stalks of a cultivated umbellifer, eaten raw or used as an aromatic base in cooking. It is mostly water by…
3% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Spinacia oleracea
A fast-growing leafy annual in the amaranth family, eaten raw as young leaves or cooked as mature ones. It wilts to a fraction of…
3% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Beta vulgaris
The swollen taproot of a cultivated Beta vulgaris, deep red from betalain pigments. It is among the richest dietary sources of…
3% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Gallus gallus domesticus
The pectoral muscle of the chicken, made up largely of fast-twitch fibres, which is why it is pale and low in fat compared with…
3% of the Daily Value per 100 g