Nutritionists and public health experts commended the FDA for taking on the problem of excess sodium, saying the effort would help focus the public’s attention on the dangers of overconsumption and accuse food companies of salt as a cheap flavor booster. There will be pressure to reduce dependence in But many said the voluntary measures are unlikely to move the needle too much. Some experts have suggested mandatory cuts, although they acknowledge that the food industry’s formidable lobbying power makes such measures impossible at the federal level.
“It’s a good start because there hasn’t been much guidance on sodium reduction from the FDA in many years, but I would have preferred stronger guidance closer to mandatory,” said Dr. Larry Appel, director of Johns Hopkins Welch. Center for prevention, epidemiology and clinical research. “Voluntary measures can kick the can down the road.”
The food industry’s reaction to the new recommendations was somewhat muted. The National Restaurant Association and the Consumer Brands Association, which represents packaged food companies, declined to comment on the new guidelines; Multinational food companies such as PepsiCo, Nestle and McDonald’s declined to comment or did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
The Sustainable Food Policy Alliance, a lobbying group created by the US divisions of Nestle, Danone, Mars and Unilever, praised the new guidelines. “These goals provide another opportunity for the food industry to support healthy eating while continuing to improve the nutritional profiles of products,” it said in a statement.
The dangers of excess sodium consumption are well documented, and public health experts have long urged federal regulators to take a more aggressive approach to reducing sodium levels in processed and prepared foods. Call to Action first introduced a . gained prominence on White House Conference on Nutrition In 1969, a year after that came an FDA advisory committee report that warned that salt was unhealthy at the level that was being consumed by most Americans.
In the decades since, salt consumption has remained well above recommended levels and the consequences have been disastrous for public health, even more so for communities of color. On Wednesday, Javier Becerra, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the first Latino to lead the agency, sought to frame new guidance as a way to tackle the health disparities that have been exacerbated during the coronavirus pandemic and its disproportionate toll. have become clear. Black and Hispanic people.
Referring to an aunt and an uncle, whose premature deaths were linked to high blood pressure, he pointed out that low-income Americans whose diets are heavy on sodium-rich processed foods are particularly vulnerable.