Corporate health management: evaluation of an educational and environmental intervention to promote a balanced, less salty diet - Part 1: nutrition education of employees

As part of the Swiss Nutrition and Salt Strategy, a 12-month combined educational and environmental intervention was carried out in 2015–2016 with the aim of promoting a balanced diet with adequate salt content in seven organizations with staff canteens. The programs were evaluated based on survey data with a view to determining their suitability for use in corporate health management. The nutrition education promoted health literacy and food literacy among the employees who participated and it was able to trigger a change in behavior. The coaching of catering teams encouraged the catering staff to reformulate the foods, but for the most part, this change could not be consolidated due to operational barriers. Combined, the two programs offer a solid foundation for longer-term in-terventions in workplace settings where there is a desire to understand and promote health literacy and hence food literacy as quality features in all areas of a workplace.