The agency issued draft guidelines for major food manufacturers and big chain restaurants created to reduce salt in hundreds of products, with separate sodium reduction targets set for two and 10 years.
Advertisement
But DeLauro and other health advocates had sought mandatory restrictions on added sodium, a far stricter standard than the voluntary guidelines issued Wednesday by the FDA.
Officials at the American Heart Association announced their support for the FDA’s initiative, calling the guidelines a “movement in the right direction” and pointing to the link between low-sodium diets and lower blood pressure.
“While a majority of Americans report watching or trying to reduce added salt in their diets, the deck has been stacked against them”, the FDA said.
About 75-percent of the sodium consumed comes from packaged or commercially prepared food prepared outside the home.
Nine in 10 Americans consume too much sodium, taking in an average of 3,400 milligrams a day, or 50% more than recommended.
The government says overwhelming scientific evidence shows that blood pressure increases when sodium intake increases, upping the chances of heart disease and stroke. “If it’s fresh, you don’t have to worry about the sodium”, said Norman Kaplan, a blood pressure researcher at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. It is also vastly greater than the 1,500 mg limit recommended for people with hypertension or pre-hypertension, which represents approximately two-thirds of the USA population.
The guidelines would apply to the majority of processed and prepared foods, placing foods in almost 150 categories from bakery products to soups. But Jacobson pointed out that progress in lowering sodium in products has been uneven among brands and that he expects at least some pushback from the salt, restaurant, and food industry lobby.
“The science has been well vetted”, said Susan Mayne, director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the FDA.
The agency said that many food companies – including General Mills, Mars and Nestle – already have cut back on salt but that the overall level in the food supply remains too high.
The FDA would like to see Americans reduce sodium intake to 3,000 milligrams per day within the next two years, and then to reach the 2,300 milligram target within 10 years. Leon Bruner of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, an industry group, said Wednesday that companies will work with the FDA on the guidelines and will ensure the agency is using the most recent science.
Encouraging a reduction in sodium content is not the first push the FDA has made for changing the nature of the food we eat.
Advertisement
The proposal will go through a public comment period where industry and citizens can weigh in before the rules are finalized. Each will have different sodium targets, and some products will have more room for reductions than others. This approach is expected to achieve significant reductions in sodium while providing flexibility for industry and more choices for consumers. The new guidelines on cutting the salt are non-binding, however.
