US FDA finally take a stand against the high sodium present in processed food.

The average sodium intake in USA is 3,400 mg per day against the recommended   2,300 mg of sodium per day. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Healthy People 2020 advise people to consume less than or equal to 2,300 mg of sodium per day.

Approximately 75% of dietary sodium is consumed by eating processed and commercially prepared (e.g., restaurant) foods. So FDA is targeting the food industry namely food manufacturers, restaurants, and food service operations to reduce sodium in foods. 

According to FDA the new guidelines focus on amount of sodium content in given food and supports the food industry voluntary efforts to reduce sodium in packaged food. It does not recommend any specific method to achieve the final goal, nor does it addresses the sodium in naturally occurring food or salt used in household food.  

FDA further stressed the fact that reduction in sodium should not affect the safety or shelf life of the finished product, nor any other ingredient like sugar or fat be added to compensate the lower sodium.

It is estimated that a decrease in sodium intake by as little as 400 mg/d or 12%  could prevent 32 000 myocardial infarctions and 20 000 strokes annually according to an editorial in JAMA by Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 1,000 Americans die each day from high blood pressure.

In addition, sodium reduction is the most achievable strategy to reduce blood pressure; no other intervention would have such large public health implication.

A robust body of evidence supports the health benefits of sodium reduction.

A recent study used three epidemiological datasets to estimate the separate public health benefits of reducing the population’s average sodium intake to 2,200 mg/day over 10 years. The researchers estimated that this pattern of reduction would prevent between 280,000 and 500,000 premature deaths over 10 years and that sustained sodium reduction would prevent additional premature deaths.

References:

http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/ucm494732.htm

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2015 – 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 8th Edition. December 2015. Available athttp://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/. 

 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Healthy People 2020. Washington, DC. Available at https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/nutrition-and-weight-status/objectives. Accessed 6/01/2016 https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/nutrition-and-weight-status/objectives. Accessed 2/03/15.

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2527053