FDA Issues Voluntary Sodium Reduction Targets For The Food Industry

The FDA issued voluntary guidance today aimed at incrementally reducing sodium levels in processed foods. The guidance comes five years after the action was first proposed in draft legislation and urges the food industry to decrease the average sodium levels found in products by about 12% over the next two and a half years.

What is the guidance?

The recommendations, which are voluntary, focus specifically on commercially processed, packaged and prepared as the notice cites that 70% of salt consumption comes from these food sources. The FDA further offered guidance on recommended sodium levels that spans 163 categories with a focus on products in the top 80% of sales by volume in each category.

While at the moment the FDA is simply encouraging companies to begin reducing sodium contents, the administration said in a statement it plans to revisit the guidance after it expires with the goal of eventually establishing specific and uniform limits on a milligrams of sodium per 100 grams of food basis. By iterating on its goals over the short-term (a 2.5 year period), the administration said it hopes to reach an acceptable value over a reasonable amount of time in a way that is feasible and does not adversely strain the food supply.

“Although we recognize that a reduction to 3,000 mg/day still would be higher than the [Dietary Guidelines for Americans’] recommended sodium limit of 2,300 mg/day, the 2.5-year goals are intended to balance the need for broad and gradual reductions in sodium and what is publicly known about technical and market constraints on sodium reduction and reformulation,” the notice said.

The guidance also notes that it does not intend to suggest producers reduce the concentration of naturally occurring sodium or make recommendations as to the amount of a sodium-containing ingredient to be used in formulations.

Why was this issued?

The guidance comes almost half a century since the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) first warned the government about the detrimental impacts of salt on consumer health and over a decade since the CSPI petitioned the FDA to revoke sodiums’ generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status. After waiting a decade for the FDA to act on the petition, the CSPI sued the administration which then spurred the 2016 draft guidance regarding sodium reduction.

“A number of companies in the food industry have already made changes [since 2016] to sodium content in their products, which is encouraging, but additional support across all types of foods to help consumers meet recommended sodium limits is needed,” FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock and director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Susan Mayne said in a joint statement. “Many of our federal, state and local partners also have initiatives underway that support sodium reduction and help people achieve healthier eating patterns overall. If we act together, we can have a profound impact on the health of millions of people.”

Citing conditions that have been directly correlated to Americans’ excessive sodium consumption, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity, the FDA said this guidance was issued to curb the impact and development of preventable health conditions. The report also notes that racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately affected by these conditions and highlights the billions of dollars spent on associated annual health care costs.

How will this impact brands?

Because the guidance is voluntary and does not take aim at specific companies but rather types of food, brands won’t necessarily feel an immediate impact. However, given the potential for the FDA to mandate sodium reduction targets in the future, it may behoove companies to start focusing on reformulations sooner rather than later. This especially will hold true for some of the largest food producers, which have hundreds of products sold in the U.S.

In addition, similar efforts around the globe may force companies’ hands before the FDA does. The FDA noted that over 50 countries around the world have taken similar approaches to reducing sodium levels, including the U.K. which has seen concentrations decline from 3,800 to 3,240 mg per day between 2003 and 2011. An incremental approach has become commonplace for the FDA, with the FDA’s report citing the actions taken by its ‘Close to Zero’ plan to reduce the level of inorganic arsenic and other toxic metals in baby food.

“In the future, we plan to issue revised, subsequent targets to further lower the sodium content incrementally and continue to help reduce sodium intake,” Woodcock and Mayne said in a joint statement. “This iterative approach will help support gradual reductions in sodium levels broadly across the food supply so that consumers’ tastes adjust, health outcomes improve and no one company or category of food is singled out or scrutinized.”

The FDA also noted in the statement that in addition to salt, it plans to offer guidance on nutrient contents such as added sugar and saturated fat which may signify that the administration is just now getting around to addressing the backlog of food industry regulations that have been pending.