Lowering salt targets for processed food in the US

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance for Phase II of its voluntary sodium reduction across the food supply. If finalised, the new set of voluntary targets would support reducing average individual sodium intake to about 2750 mg/day — which is about 20% lower than consumer intake levels prior to 2021.

The Phase II targets follow an initial set of targets issued in October 2021, which encouraged the food industry to reduce sodium levels in a wide variety of processed, packaged and prepared foods. According to the FDA’s Preliminary data from 2022 released on 15 August 2024, approximately 40% of the initial Phase I targets are very close to or have already been reached.

The new 3-year, voluntary sodium reduction targets go further by focusing on lowering the levels for 163 categories of commercially processed, packaged and prepared foods. This guidance is particularly relevant as more than 70% of sodium intake in the US population comes from sodium added during food manufacturing and commercial food preparation, according to the FDA.

Reducing sodium intake has the potential to prevent hundreds of thousands of premature deaths and illnesses in the coming years by helping to reduce risk for heart disease and stroke.

FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Jim Jones said: “In addition to our sodium reduction efforts, the FDA is also actively working on a forthcoming final rule updating the definition of the claim ‘healthy’, a proposed rule for front-of-package nutrition labelling and exploring ways to reduce added sugars consumption. The FDA’s sodium reduction and other nutrition initiatives are central to a broader, whole-of-government approach to help reduce the burden of diet-related chronic diseases and advance health equity.”

Additional sodium-related actions the FDA has taken include: the issuance of a proposed rule to amend the standards of identity to permit the use of salt substitutes in foods for which salt is a required or optional ingredient, and guidance on use of the term “potassium salt” instead of “potassium chloride” to signal consumers that the ingredient is a salt substitute.

Future phases of sodium reduction targets will be considered as part of the US agency’s evaluation and monitoring of sodium reduction progress in the marketplace, as well as monitoring of sodium intake in the US population.

The Australian Government is working with industry to achieve a 30% reduction in average population salt intake by 2025. According to FSANZ, the Australian and New Zealand governments recommend adults eat around 2000 mg of sodium per day (equivalent to about 5000 mg or 5 g of salt or 1 teaspoon).

Image credit: iStock.com/stefano gallorini