By Reuters – The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday laid out fresh goals to cut sodium levels in packaged and processed foods by about 20%, after its prior efforts to address a growing epidemic of diet-related chronic diseases showed early signs of success.
The FDA in October 2021 had set guidelines to trim sodium levels in foods ranging from potato chips to hamburgers in a bid to prevent excessive intake of salt that can trigger high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
The agency is now seeking voluntary curbs from packaged-food makers such as PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz and Campbell Soup. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment …
Federal regulators have given themselves permission to rejigger the recipes of popular foods from Doritos to Campbell’s Soup … the very definition of ‘Nanny State’ government. Content below from the FDA website.
Sodium Reduction in the U.S. Food Supply 2010-2022: A Preliminary Assessment of Progress
The FDA encourages nutritious diets that support health and wellness. The U.S. faces an ever-growing epidemic of preventable diet-related chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
Improving nutrition offers one of the greatest opportunities for reducing these and other chronic illnesses and premature death.
One way the FDA promotes nutritious eating patterns is by encouraging industry to make foods healthier including by reducing sodium content. Too much sodium can raise blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
More than 70 percent of sodium that people in the U.S. consume comes from processed and prepared foods, not from the saltshaker at home.
It is difficult for consumers to reduce their sodium intake because the level of sodium across the food supply is too high. By reducing sodium levels in the food supply, consumers will have more choices that can fit into a healthy dietary pattern.
To help address the public health problem of excess sodium consumption, the FDA is taking a phased approach to setting voluntary sodium reduction targets in foods to help gradually reduce sodium across the food supply. This fact sheet summarizes a preliminary assessment on progress on the first set of targets.
In October 2021, the FDA published a final guidance with voluntary sodium reduction targets to provide measurable, 2.5-year targets. The agency is now referring to these as Phase I targets.
The Phase I targets were designed to support reducing average sodium consumption from 3,400 milligrams/day (mg/day) to 3,000 mg/day and were based on data from 2010. Two and half years from October 2021 is April 2024.
In August 2024, the FDA published a draft guidance Voluntary Sodium Reduction Goals: Target Mean and Upper Bound Concentrations for Sodium in Commercially Processed, Packaged, and Prepared Foods (Edition 2) with new, 3-year voluntary sodium reduction targets in foods to advance progress already made in reducing sodium in the food supply.
The new targets, referred to as Phase II, build on the Phase I targets issued in 2021.
FDA will consider comments on these targets before issuing final guidance. The new targets, if achieved, would support reducing sodium intake to about 2,750 mg/day.
While this is higher than the recommended upper level of 2,300 mg/day for those 14 years and older, the FDA is taking an iterative approach toward reaching its sodium reduction goals. Further, even modest improvements across the population could produce a large public health benefit …
