Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “marked a milestone building on Phase I of its voluntary sodium reduction targets and issued draft guidance for Phase II in a data-driven, stepwise approach to help sodium reduction across the food supply.”
Prior to 2021, the FDA stated that consumer intake was approximately 3,400 milligrams per day on average, far higher than the limit recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans of 2,300 milligrams per day for those 14 years and older.
The proposed new set of targets would support reducing average individual sodium intake to about 2,750 milligrams per day. This reduction is approximately 20% lower than consumer intake levels prior to 2021.
The Phase II voluntary sodium reduction 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. Preliminary data from 2022 show about 40% of the initial Phase I targets are very close to or have already been reached, indicating early success of this effort.
“The early successes we’re seeing with sodium level reduction in certain foods is encouraging and indicative of the impact we believe our overall nutrition approach can have on the wellbeing of society,” said FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Jim Jones. “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 labeling and exploring ways to reduce added sugars consumption.”
The Phase II targets will continue to focus on commercially processed, packaged, and prepared foods in the marketplace. The FDA states that “more than 70% of sodium intake in the U.S. population comes from sodium added during food manufacturing and commercial food preparation.”
According to the FDA, one potential effect of too much sodium is raised blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. The agency’s sodium reduction initiative is part of the White House National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health to reduce diet-related diseases by 2030.