FDA to Limit Salt in Food Supply

In April 2010, The Institute of Medicine (IOM) urged the Food and Drug Administration to propose new regulation to limit the amount of salt in the American diet.  It is no surprise that thousands of Americans die each year from cardiovascular disease and one of the biggest contributors to this is too much salt in the food supply.  Much of the effort over the last 40 years to reduce sodium consumption has been unsuccessful because regulation has been voluntary on the part of the food industry.  Today this is compounded further by the fact that Americans have increasingly turned to sodium rich, heavily processed foods and restaurant meals for the bulk of their diet.  

The IOM’s recommended approach to solving this problem involves a multitude of stakeholders, including all players in the food industry, from manufacturers to restaurant and foodservice operators, public health and consumer organizations, and government agencies like Health and Human Services, to reduce sodium content gradually over a number of years.  The slow adjustment to the American palate will first allow consumers to develop new tastes in a way that will go unnoticed and not create public outcry and second give food manufacturers time to reformulate their products.

All of this seems like a firm step in the right direction, and surely there is no quick fix to any problem in our food system, but with most adults consuming twice the amount of recommended salt in their diets each day, can we wait for such a gradual process?  Much like proposals to reduce fat and sugar in the diet, are we sacrificing the health of American consumers for the needs of the food industry and their bottom line?

The 2011 Dietary Guidelines, put out just last week seem to think sodium should be reduced to less than 2,300 mg or one teaspoon per day, starting now.  I couldn’t agree more.  I propose that while we wait for the food companies to slowly reduce the amount of salt in a bag of Doritos or a box of Cheez-its, we as consumers get ourselves educated about what we put into our bodies.  I think it should be mandatory for the multi-stakeholder groups involved in this effort to simultaneously begin a ferocious sodium awareness campaign to educate consumers.  Consumers clearly don’t understand the importance of reading food labels, decreasing the amount of processed foods they eat and cooking more at home where the ingredients are measured.  Everyone is at risk for the health consequences of too much sodium and although the IOM makes some good recommendations, I worry that something too gradual will translate into something that has a far lesser effect than intended.