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Food industry pressured to cut back on salt in U.S.

U.S. health officials propose long-awaited sodium guidelines to make foods from breads to sliced turkey less salty in an effort to prevent thousands of deaths each year from heart disease and stroke.

Health groups have argued for mandatory standards, say voluntary guidelines a good first step

Thomson Reuters ·
The voluntary sodium guidelines would apply to major food manufacturers and restaurants. (Katie Workman/Associated Press)
U.S. health officials recommended cutting the amount of salt added to foods by about a third, according to proposed guidelines that are likely to have a wide-ranging impact on the processed food industry in the United States.

Increased sodium intake is linked to high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease and stroke — two major causes of death in the United States and Canada.

The average sodium intake in the United States is about 3,400 mg per day. The guidelines set targets for the food 
industry to help reduce sodium intake to 2,300 mg per day, the  U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. 

Likewise, Canada's voluntary sodium reduction strategy introduced in 2010 also aims to reduce average sodium consumption to 2,300 milligrams per day by 2016.

Most adults in Canada consume a little more than 3,000 milligrams of sodium on average each day.

Our great hope is that this will initiate a very serious national dialogue.- Robert Califf 

One teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300 milligrams of sodium, according to the American Heart Association. 

The health agency said the voluntary guidelines would apply to major food manufacturers and restaurants.

 FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said that many people may not be conscious of how much sodium they are eating until they have a heart attack or stroke.

"Our great hope is that this will initiate a very serious national dialogue," he said.

About half of every food dollar goes to food consumed outside the home, according to the USDA's Economic Research 
Service.

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.

Health groups have argued for mandatory standards, but say voluntary guidelines are a good first step. Michael Jacobson, the head of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says the government should assess how the voluntary standards work, and set mandatory targets if they don't.

The FDA said it encouraged feedback over a stipulated comment period that ranges from 90 days to 150 days.

The guidelines come days after the FDA said it plans a major overhaul of the way packaged foods are labeled to reflect the amount of added sugar and specific serving sizes. 

Levels of sodium in both packaged foods and restaurant meals in Canada can vary widely. 

With files from CBC News and Associated Press

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