FDA Discusses Voluntary Sodium Reduction Goals in Public Webinar

Food and Drug Law at Keller and Heckman

Email

202-434-4100

Bio and Articles

FDA’s Voluntary Sodium Reduction Goals: Key Takeaways from Recent Webinar

by: Food and Drug Law at Keller and Heckman of Keller and Heckman LLP - The Daily Intake

Friday, October 18, 2024

Print Mail Download info_icon_img

/>i

On October 10, 2024, FDA hosted a public webinar to discuss the Voluntary Sodium Reduction Goals (Edition 2) and review progress. Key FDA speakers provided updates on the latest sodium reduction targets and insights into the progress made so far.
As previously discussed on this blog, FDA issued Edition 2 of the Draft Guidance for Industry Voluntary Sodium Reduction Goals in August 2024. These goals aim to encourage the food industry to gradually reduce sodium levels in packaged and prepared foods, addressing diet-related chronic diseases and promoting health equity. Over 70% of sodium consumed in the US comes from processed and prepared foods. The goal is to lower average daily sodium intake from 3,400 mg to 2,300 mg.
FDA developed baselines for sodium concentrations based on label data and created target mean and upper bound sodium concentration goals. The target mean is an average for the food category as a whole, while the voluntary upper bound applies to every individual product and for which no individual product should exceed.
During the webinar, FDA highlighted the draft targets issued on August 15 and provided a preliminary assessment of progress towards Phase 1 targets. The new 2024 guidance lowers the average sodium intake goal to 2,750 mg/day, includes restaurant data from 15 categories, and adds 3 new subcategories.
Key findings from the preliminary assessment include:
- There are 16 broad food categories with 163 subcategories. Of the 16 overarching categories, 11 categories had at least 50% of their subcategories decrease in sodium.
- From 2010 to 2022, 52% of all food categories decreased in sodium, 34% increased, and 14% saw no change. Packaged foods showed more significant reductions at 62% compared to restaurant foods at 35%. Notably, 100% of subcategories in the toddler and baby food category saw a reduction in sodium.
- Overall, 40% of food categories have already achieved the Phase I sodium targets or were within 10% of meeting those targets.
FDA clarified that the targets are voluntary, as this approach has proven effective globally. The gradual and voluntary approach is designed to afford the industry flexibility, and it was noted that consumer palates adjust to salt reduction over time, and small reductions often go unnoticed. A recording of the session is available on FDA’s meeting page here.
FDA is encouraging feedback on the draft targets and categories and will be accepting comments until November 14, 2024. We will continue to monitor for updates and provide further information as it becomes available.