The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance for the second phase of its voluntary sodium reduction targets, to provide the industry with a data-driven, stepwise approach to help reduce sodium across the food supply.
 
Prior to 2021, consumer intake of sodium was 3,400 mg per day on average, far higher than the limit of 2,300 mg recommended in Dietary Guidelines for Americans for people 14 years and older.
 
The new set of voluntary targets, if finalized, would support reducing the average sodium intake to about 2,750 mg per day, which is 20% lower than levels estimated prior to 2021.
 
The Phase II voluntary sodium reduction targets follow initial targets the FDA set in 2021. Preliminary data from 2022 show that about 40% of the initial targets have been reached, or are very close to being reached, across multiple food categories.
 
“Reducing sodium in the food supply has the potential to be one of the most important public health initiatives in a generation. 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 Jim Jones, FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods. “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 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.”
 
Phase II targets will continue to focus on commercially-processed, packaged, and prepared foods, as more than 70% of sodium intake in the U.S. population comes from sodium added during food manufacturing and commercial preparation. The preliminary Phase I data, released today, informed FDA’s Phase II targets.
 
Too much sodium is linked to high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, and strong scientific evidence supports lowering sodium intake from current levels, FDA stated. Reducing sodium intake may prevent hundreds of thousands of premature deaths and illnesses in the coming years by reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke. Underserved communities, including racial and ethnic minority groups, experience high blood pressure at increased rates compared to the overall average, FDA reported, so reducing sodium in the food supply could also help advance health equity in these populations.
 
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. FDA’s Phase II voluntary sodium reduction targets reflect what is known about achievable reductions in different food categories, consumer acceptance, and food safety, and align with the goal of reducing average individual sodium intake to about 2,750 mg per day in the U.S. The reduction targets are also in line with the Department of Agriculture’s school meal sodium limits, so children have access to healthy choices at school.
 
FDA also issued 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.
 
The agency will issue a complete evaluation of the industry’s progress against Phase I targets when the data becomes available and analyzed. FDA expects to issue regular evaluations of sodium in foods about every three years to support its process.