Use of Salt Substitutes To Reduce the Sodium Content in Standardized Foods
Key claim: Food makers can now replace salt with salt substitutes in federally standardized foods so they can sell lower-sodium versions without violating FDA recipes.
Abstract
(Rule · Health and Human Services Department, Food and Drug Administration) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is issuing a final rule to amend our standard of identity regulations that specify salt (sodium chloride) as a required or optional ingredient to permit the use of salt substitutes in standardized foods, to reduce the sodium content. Reducing sodium may help reduce the risk of hypertension, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. The rule will help support a healthier food supply by providing flexibility to facilitate industry innovation in the production of standardized foods lower in sodium while maintaining the basic nature and essential characteristics of the foods.
Why this matters
Standards of identity dictate the recipes manufacturers must follow to call a product by its common name (e.g., bread, cheese, canned vegetables), and historically those recipes required salt. By allowing salt substitutes across these standards, FDA removes a long-standing regulatory barrier to sodium reduction in the processed-food supply, which federal public-health agencies have identified as a major driver of hypertension and cardiovascular disease.