In 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Phase I Voluntary Sodium Reduction Goals that encourage manufacturers to lower the amount of sodium in packaged foods by 2024. The target appears to have had minimal impact, according to a study comparing the sodium content of new products introduced before and after the guidance was issued.
Our findings suggest that despite voluntary targets issued by the FDA, sodium content in newly introduced products did not decrease in nine processed food categories that account for the majority of U.S. dietary salt intake, and increased in four additional categories. These findings suggest that the food industry is not incorporating sodium targets into new product development and innovation. ”
Kenny Kusnadi, MSPH, graduate student researcher in the Department of Global Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and lead author of the study
Dr. Kusnadi will present the findings at NUTRITION 2026, the American Academy of Nutrition’s major annual meeting, July 25-28. in National Harbor, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC
Excess sodium intake is one of the main causes of high blood pressure, which increases your risk of stroke, heart attack, and heart failure. Research shows that most Americans consume far more sodium than the recommended upper limit of 2,300 milligrams per day, which is equivalent to about 1 teaspoon of table salt.
Because most of the sodium we consume comes from processed and restaurant foods, rather than salt added at the table or during home cooking, health authorities issued voluntary guidance as a way to reduce the nation’s sodium consumption by encouraging reformulations that manufacturers introduce into processed foods.
Researchers analyzed the sodium content listed on the nutrition facts labels of packaged foods introduced in the United States from 2015 to 2025 (six years before and four years after the voluntary guidelines were issued in 2021). They tested the sodium content of foods across nine major sodium contributing categories: bread and bread products, pizza, sandwiches/wraps, meat products, corn-based snacks, potato snacks, popcorn, dry soups, and wet soups. For all nine categories combined, there was no difference in sodium content between products introduced before and after 2021. In fact, four categories had higher sodium content in products introduced in 2021 and beyond: dry soups, popcorn, bread and bakery products, and corn-based snacks.
“These findings add to the substantial body of evidence that voluntary, non-binding target setting is a less effective approach to meaningfully reducing the sodium content of foods,” said study lead author Matti Marklund, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Global Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Available evidence, including our analysis, suggests that future efforts require stronger accountability mechanisms, such as mandating sodium targets with economic consequences for non-compliance.”
This study focused on products newly introduced to the U.S. market based on data from the Mintel Global New Products Database. This includes packaged foods sold in supermarkets and top retail channels that are newly introduced or have changed formulations or packaging. While this research method is good for assessing industry trends, it doesn’t provide a complete picture of every product on the shelf, nor does it assess an individual’s sodium intake. This may help provide a more complete picture regarding the success of salt reduction efforts.
Consumers can reduce their sodium intake by cooking at home, relying less on ready-to-eat and packaged foods, and reading nutrition labels and choosing products with less sodium. While such measures can help reduce individuals’ sodium intake, strong policies are needed to reduce the U.S. population’s sodium intake and meaningfully reduce the associated burden of high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease, the researchers said. FDA will implement Phase II sodium reduction goals in August 2024 and is expected to release a formal evaluation of Phase I goals later this year.
sauce:
American Academy of Nutrition
