This study examined the salinity distribution of soups served at childcare center lunches according to the soup category and quantified the between-center variability using routine monitoring data from Anyang, Korea, collected from January to December 2025. The salinity (%) was measured at participating centers, and the soups were classified into seven categories: malgeunguk, doenjangguk⋅misojangguk, miyeokguk, eomukguk, gimchiguk, yukgaejang⋅ dakgaejang⋅samgyetang, and manduguk. The descriptive statistics were calculated for each category. The mixed-effects models with a center-level random intercept were fitted to account for repeated measurements within centers and quantify the between-center variability. A total of 30,445 measurements were included. Malgeunguk comprised the largest share (n = 18,502), followed by doenjangguk⋅misojangguk (n = 7,451). Across the categories, the mean salinity ranged from 0.364% to 0.386%, and the median salinity was generally 0.400% (0.420% for doenjangguk⋅ misojangguk and eomukguk). Among the centers (n = 206), the mean center-level average salinity was 0.374% (SD 0.084), with a median of 0.396% (IQR, 0.321–0.439). Approximately half of the centers (47.1%) had an average salinity above 0.4%, whereas none exceeded 0.5%. These findings provide quantitative evidence to inform the category-specific targets and center-level management of soup salinity in childcare lunches.

Abstract
I. 서 론
II. 연구 내용 및 방법
    1. 연구설계
    2. 염도 측정 기기 및 측정 절차
    3. 관측단위 및 변수 정의
    4. 통계분석
III. 결과 및 고찰
    1. 국 분류별 염도 분포의 수준과 변동 범위
    2. 국 염도 기준초과 빈도의 분류별 비교
    3. 기관 평균 염도 분포와 기준 초과 기관 비율
    4. 기관 수준 변동을 고려한 국 분류별 추정치 비교
IV. 요약 및 결론
저자 정보
Conflict of Interest
References

• 김혜원(안양대학교 식품영양학과, 안양대학교 보건영양연구소) | Hye Won Kim (Department of Food and Nutrition, Anyang University, Korea, Institute of Health and Nutrition, Anyang University, Korea) Corresponding author