The US Food and Drug Administration should work with the food industry to introduce mandatory limits to the amount of salt added to foods, a new report has claimed.
According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), reductions in sodium could prevent more than 100,000 deaths in the US each year.
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The report, out yesterday (20 April), suggested that while “numerous stakeholders” have initiated voluntary efforts to reduce sodium consumption, these efforts have not succeeded.
“Reducing sodium content in food requires new government standards for the acceptable level of sodium” the IOM report said. “The goal is to slowly, over time, reduce the sodium content of the food supply in a way that goes unnoticed by most consumers as individuals’ taste sensors adjust to the lower levels of sodium.”
Responding to the report, the FDA said that it is yet to decide whether to move on the IOM’s recommendations.
“Over the coming weeks, the FDA will more thoroughly review the recommendations of the IOM report and build plans for how the FDA can continue to work with other federal agencies, public health and consumer groups and the food industry to support the reduction of sodium levels in the food supply,” the regulator said.
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By GlobalData“The Department of Health and Human Services will be establishing an inter-agency working group on sodium at the department that will review options and next steps,” the FDA added.
