The average U.S. consumer's sodium intake is notoriously high, which has led to public health concerns such as high blood pressure. In an effort to reduce consumption, the FDA released sodium reduction guidelines in October 2021, providing voluntary, short-term sodium reduction targets for food manufacturers, chain restaurants, and food service operators.
The FDA's sodium reduction initiative has set an important standard for promoting healthier food practices across the industry. By providing this guidance, the FDA has set clear nutritional milestones for manufacturers and operators while hopefully improving future health outcomes for consumers.
According to the FDA, the Daily Reference Value (DRV) established for sodium is currently at 2,300 milligrams per day for adults. However, the organization found that adults are consuming nearly 50% more sodium than this recommendation. Younger populations are also consuming excess sodium, with more than 95% of children ages 2 to 13 exceeding the recommended limits of sodium for their age groups. Approximately 70% of the sodium that Americans eat comes from packaged, processed, and restaurant foods, which makes limiting intake a challenge.
FDA guidance established voluntary, short-term sodium reduction targets for food manufacturers, chain restaurants, and food service operators in 163 food categories. The FDA's goal was to decrease the average person's sodium intake from 3,400 milligrams per day to 3,000 milligrams per day, which is about a 12% reduction.
The guidance outlined short-term goals the FDA wanted the food industry to meet to help optimize public health. In the future, the FDA plans to issue revised, subsequent targets to further lower sodium content incrementally and continue to help reduce sodium intake. Voluntary and gradual approaches like this have also been successful in other countries, including Canada and the U.K.
The FDA compiled a table of 163 food categories, listing their original 2010 baseline sodium concentrations alongside a column for the updated 2021 guidance. The side-by-side is there to help food and beverage manufacturers and providers target the recommended mean sodium concentrations for each category. These targets were applied to categories across the entire food supply and were not necessarily intended for any single manufacturer’s specific product.
By applying comprehensive and collective strategies for reducing sodium intake, the government's hope was to have the same success as similar countries in protecting consumers from sodium-related health concerns like high blood pressure, heart attacks, or stroke.
The FDA also recognized that sodium reduction may be more difficult for some companies and products than others. That’s why the FDA started by encouraging manufacturers with a significant share of national sales in one or more food categories, as well as restaurants and similar establishments with national or regional reach, to participate.
While these goals for reducing sodium intake have led to some improvements in consumer health, the FDA will continue to use short-term milestones to further reduce overall consumption to healthy levels. Over time, the long-term strategy aims to achieve incremental progress in health standards through cooperation across the food safety landscape.
Manufacturers can take steps today to improve their sodium reduction by seeking out assistance and education from resources like AIB. Start with courses like AIB International’s FDA food labeling training to ensure full transparency and food safety in your operation.