WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – From pizzas and soups to deli meats, dips and hamburgers, Americans’ diets are often packed with salt. Yesterday the Food and Drug Administration moved to cut average salt consumption by a third in an effort to reduce heart attacks and strokes.
The agency issued draft guidelines for major food manufacturers and big chain restaurants designed to reduce salt in hundreds of products, with separate sodium reduction targets set for two and 10 years.
More than 70 percent of the salt in the average diet comes in the form of processed and prepared food. The FDA’s goal is to lower sodium in those foods and give consumers the choice to add salt later if they want to. Excess sodium raises blood pressure and is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
The goal is to cut average adult salt consumption from 3,400 milligrams a day to 2,300. The average American consumes almost 50 percent more sodium than recommended by most experts, the FDA said.
Many U.S. food companies, including Campbell Soup Co , General Mills Inc and Kraft Heinz Co, have already cut salt levels to some extent in anticipation of the guidelines, which have been in the works since 2011.
The FDA said it looks forward to a robust discussion with the public and industry before finalizing the guidance. Susan Mayne, director of the FDA’s food safety and nutrition division, said the discussion is needed “to make sure we have the right targets.” She declined to predict when the guidance would be finalized. The food industry is likely to challenge the FDA’s targets.
“Like others inside and outside of government, we believe additional work is needed to determine the acceptable range of sodium intake for optimal health,” Leon Bruner, chief science officer at the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the industry’s biggest lobbying organization, said in a statement.
