Laws & Politics
FDA considers regulating salt use in processed foods
By Sue Mueller
Nov 29, 2007 - 3:14:55 PM

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THURSDAY NOV 29, 2007 (Foodconsumer.org) -- The Food and Drug Administration is considering regulating use of salt in prepared foods, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a not-for-profit food policy advocate, said November 27.

CSPI said that on Thursday, the FDA will hold its first public hearing on whether and how to limit or reduce the salt content in processed foods.

High salt intake has been believed by the medical circle to be as a risk factor for high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease and the SCPI has been urging the FDA to do something to reduce dietary salt consumption for the past three decades.

The food policy organization said it first petitioned the FDA in 1978 and launched two lawsuits, one in 1983 and the other in 2005, to force the federal agency to press food companies to voluntarily reduce use of salt in foods.

The latest petition for regulating of salt use was launched in late 2005 and the Thursday hearing was sponsored by SCPI and the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

Salt is "generally regarded as safe" or GRAS, meaning that it can be used in foodstuff without any restriction. But according to the American Medical Association, 150,000 lives could be saved in the U.S. each year if the salt content in processed foods and restaurant foods were reduced by 50 percent.

“Very few people dispute that Americans get way too much salt from processed and restaurant foods, and that that excess promotes hypertension, stroke, heart attacks, kidney failure, and early death,” said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson.

“While the FDA has historically declined to challenge companies to lower high sodium levels, it is increasingly hard for FDA officials to ignore the calls to action made in recent years by the medical community.”

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that American use no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day, which translates into 5,844 milligrams of table salt (NaCl without any additives). Some experts believe even that amount is still too much.

The SCPI said the average intake by Americans is almost twice the recommended, about 4,000 mg sodium or 10,163 mg of sodium chloride (table salt).

The SCPI argued that regulation of salt in prepared foods are important as about 77 percent comes from processed and restaurant-served foods citing one small study.

Similar foods sold under different brands contain quite different amounts of sodium, according to SCPI.

For instance, "Bumble Bee canned tuna has 137 percent more salt than Crown Prince Natural Solid tuna; Jamestown Hardwood bacon has 65 percent more sodium than Safeway Select’s Naturally Smoked bacon, and Contadina tomato paste has 237 percent more salt than Hunt’s (even while Contadina’s tomato sauce has 33 percent less sodium than Hunt’s)," SCPI stated.

The same foods may contain different levels of salt depending upon the countries where the foods are served.   McDonald's Chicken McNuggets served in the U.S. contain more than twice as much sodium as that served in the United Kingdom.   Kellogg’s Special K has 58 percent more sodium in the U.S. than the UK.

The UK government advises that consumers limit their salt consumption to 6 grams of salt per day.   According to salt.gov.uk, eating less salt has the following benefits:

Cutting down on salt reduces blood pressure, whether or not your blood pressure is high to start with.

When your blood pressure goes down, your risk of developing heart disease and stroke goes down too, whatever your age.

If you have high blood pressure, cutting down on salt can help to lower your blood pressure in weeks.

You may start to notice a wider range of flavors in food, as your taste buds adjust to having less salt.

In response to the FDA's move to consider regulating use of salt in processed foods, Salt Institute, which represents salt companies, issued a press release November 29 to suggest that there is no scientific evidence to support a direct association between salt consumption and heart disease and stroke.    Link of salt consumption to high blood pressure does not mean a link between salt and heart disease.

The Salt Institute said “FDA should join the Salt Institute in encouraging a controlled trial of whether a population reduction in dietary salt would improve public health.”

Salt containing sodium and chloride ions plays important roles in a number of life-sustaining processes including maintenance of cell membrane and blood pressure, and nutrient absorption and transport, according to the Linus Pauling Institute.

On one hand, deficiencies of sodium could lead to hyponatremia and hyponatremia.   On the other, high intake of salt could increase risk of gastric cancer, osteoporosis and kidney stones in addition to the commonly known effects such as an increase in risk of high blood pressure and heart disease, according to the Linus Pauling Institute.

The adequate intake depends on the age.   In 2004, the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine recommends adequate intake for sodium and sodium Chloride (salt) as follows:

1 gram of sodium or 2.5 grams of salt per day for children at the age of 1 to 3 years;

1.2 grams of sodium or 3.0 grams of salt per day for children at the age of 4 to 8 years;

1.5 grams of sodium or 3.8 grams of salt per day for those at the age of 9 to 50 years;

1.3 grams of sodium or 3.3 grams of salt per day for those at the age of 51 to 70;

1.2 grams of sodium or 3.0 grams of salt per day for those at the age of 71 or older;

1.5 grams of sodium or 3.8 grams of salt per day for pregnant and breast-feeding women at the age of 14 to 50 years.