Soon Processed Foods May Contain Less Salt

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a draft of voluntary guidelines that aims to reduce salt content in processed and prepared foods. The FDA hopes the guidelines will help reduce Americans’ daily salt intake to 3,000 mg in two years and 2,300 mg over the next decade. Currently, Americans’ average salt intake is about 3,400 milligrams per day. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell writes, “Many Americans want to reduce sodium in their diets, but that’s hard to do when much of it is in everyday products we buy in stores and restaurants… Today’s announcement is about putting power back in the hands of consumers, so that they can better control how much salt is in the food they eat and improve their health.” Food and Drug Administration, June 2016