The FDA proposes making an important change to its regulations on salt substitutes

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed to make a change to its regulations on the use of salt in food that would allow food manufacturers to use salt substitutes. 

If approved the proposes would allow producers to use a substitute, instead of the real thing, in over 160 different food products, including the following: 

• Acidified milk and cultured milk
• Acidified and regular sour cream
• Bread, rolls, and buns
• Cane, table, maple, and sorghum syrup
• Canned products like applesauce, corn, figs, green beans, mushrooms, oysters, peas, Pacific salmon, tomatoes, tuna
• Eggnog
• Frozen peas
• Fruit butter like apple butter
• Ketchup
• Macaroni and noodle products
• Margarine
• Mayonnaise
• Milk chocolate, sweet chocolate, white chocolate, and breakfast cocoa
• Salad dressing
• Self-rising flour and white cornmeal
• Semi-soft cheeses
• Tomato concentrates and tomato juice

According to the FDA, the proposed change, which is called “Use of Salt Substitutes to Reduce the Sodium Content in Standardized Foods”, could help to improve people’s health and reduce the chances of developing certain diseases, including cardiovascular disease. 

The US administration is currently aiming to reduce diet-related health problems in the next few years as part of its nutrition and health strategy. The FDA says that the average US consumer currently consumes 3,400 mg of salt every day, which is 47% higher than recommended. The current targets are to reduce this to 3,000 mg a day by 2030. 

Susan Mayne, Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition said, “Most people in the U.S. consume too much sodium. The majority of sodium consumed comes from processed, packaged and prepared foods, not from salt people add to their food when cooking or eating.

This effort, combined with the FDA’s voluntary sodium reduction targets, is part of the agency’s overall nutrition strategy to create a healthier food supply, provide consumers with information to choose healthier foods and improve the health and wellness of our nation.”