The agency wants to lower how much salt we consume over the next three years to an average of 2,750 milligrams per day. That’s still above the recommended limit of 2,300 mg.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday laid out fresh goals to cut sodium levels in packaged and processed foods by about 20%, after its prior efforts to address a growing epidemic of diet-related chronic diseases showed early signs of success.
The FDA in October 2021 had set guidelines to trim sodium levels in foods ranging from potato chips to hamburgers in a bid to prevent excessive intake of salt that can trigger high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
The agency is now seeking voluntary curbs from packaged-food makers such as PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz and Campbell Soup. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Do we already know what manufacturers would replace it with to maintain flavour? Eg in the past when manufacturers had to cut down on fat, they’ve replaced it with sugar and hydrogenated oils?
Food? Maybe their product doesn’t need to be addictive but can instead include a higher percentage of food ingredients
That’s certainly a possibility, but I’m not sure it’s the most likely one in America, so I’d like to better understand the consequences
They should be putting fats back in and cutting out carbs/sugars
Mostly potassium salt, although with some other recipe changes to account for the different flavor.
The good news is that potassium is well understood nutritionally. Most Americans do not get enough of it. To a first approximation, it is anti-sodium health wise, so it is a double win in that it both reduces sodium intake, and counters the effect of a still high sodium intake.