FDA Looks to Cut Salt Content in Food – Wall Street Journal

Updated June 1, 2016 10:14 a.m. ET

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday issued voluntary guidelines that would certainly limit the salt content in a swath of packaged and restaurant meals.

The agency called on food companies to lower sodium levels in an effort to cut individual daily salt intake to 2,300 milligrams from a current standard of about 3,400 milligrams. Government officials are targeting 150 categories of food, including soups, deli meats, bakery products, snack foods and pizza.

Over time, high levels of sodium intake can lead to elevated blood pressure.

The FDA said it is particularly focused on reductions by food manufacturers whose products make up the bulk of sales in any one of these categories, as well as by national restaurant chains.

The voluntary targets are to be phased in. The rules give manufacturers two years to begin cutting sodium levels in products, and then a decade to make further cuts. The longer time period is intended to recognize the time it takes to develop brand-new foods products, the FDA said.

Food manufacturers won’t be forced to adopt them by law, according to the guidelines published Wednesday. The FDA will issue the final rules after a 90-day comment period.

The guidelines follow a long-stalled effort by the federal government to tackle sodium consumption as part of its broader healthy-eating initiatives.

Last week, the FDA announced it was instituting a brand-new nutrition-facts panel on the back of packaged food and beverages that list how several grams of sugar have actually been added by manufacturers during processing, as well as maximum intake guidelines.

The Obama administration’s health campaigns have actually been met along with resistance from several food manufacturers, who view the efforts as costly and not always based on scientific consensus.

The administration has actually been less heavy handed on the salt issue, prompting a consumer advocacy agency to sue the federal government to adopt sodium guidelines. Officials for years have actually instead sought to push the packaged food industry to voluntarily reduce sodium levels. A group of 27 food manufacturers, restaurants and groceries have actually made changes so far, including the Kraft Heinz Co., Campbell Soup Co. and Subway, according to the government.

Some lawmakers have actually pushed to block the FDA from issuing the brand-new salt targets until scientific agencies beyond federal ones weighed in on them, and added an amendment to the last two federal spending bills to force the issue. A Institute of Medicine report in 2010 found that reducing sodium intake to 2,300 mg a day can lead to reductions in blood pressure.

Write to Heather Haddon at heather.haddon@wsj.com