Yesterday evening’s last minute congressional spending deal included a rider that prohibits the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from using appropriation funds to “develop, issue, promote, or advance any regulations applicable to food manufacturers for population-wide sodium reduction actions or to develop, issue, promote or advance final guidance applicable to food manufacturers for long term population-wide sodium reduction actions until the date on which the dietary reference intake report with respect to sodium is completed.”

This move is consistent with a House Appropriations Report from April 2016 that “encouraged” FDA to wait until the Dietary Reference Intake for sodium report was finalized before issuing any voluntary or mandatory guidance on sodium reduction reports, so that any guidance was based on the latest sound science.

See FDA’s June 2016 release of its long-awaited sodium reduction targets. Congress’s most recent activity on this issue signals that the Trump Administration is not likely to advance the Obama Administration’s sodium reduction efforts any time soon.