The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued rules allowing manufacturers to swap salt for “safe” alternatives in everyday staples.
Announced yesterday (13 October), the regulation covers 139 "standardised" foods including cheeses, bread rolls, chocolate, canned items, and salad dressings.
Federal "standards of identity (SOI)" previously allowed standard sodium chloride for the products while prohibiting alternatives.
Under the updated provisions, food companies may introduce “safe” replacements, including herbs, spices or potassium salt.
However, the agency stressed formulas must still preserve the “basic nature and essential characteristics” of each product.
“The extent to which salt can be replaced depends on the ability of the salt substitute to replicate the functions of salt in the food without compromising the food’s safety and nutritional quality,” the FDA said.
The rules are scheduled to take effect on 14 December, with a 12 November deadline to file objections regarding dairy standards.
The move is part of the FDA’s efforts to reduce sodium in the diets of US consumers. In 2021, the agency published a set of "phase one" voluntary targets that set a goal to lower intake to 3,000 milligrams per day.
In 2024, the FDA set out updated voluntary targets that aim to cut intake to around 2,750 milligrams.
However, they surpass the 2,300 milligrams per day recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans for people aged 14 and older.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the non-profit food watchdog, commended the measure.
Eva Greenthal, its senior policy scientist, highlighted the group first recommended the policy as a "common-sense change to outdated food standards" in 2018.
She also underlined potassium chloride’s "immense potential for public health benefit," citing studies showing “significant” reductions in strokes, major cardiovascular incidents, and deaths.
"There is much left for FDA to do. We urge the agency to publish a final evaluation of the agency’s phase one voluntary sodium reduction targets, issue more aggressive phase-two targets and finalise a mandatory front-of-package nutrition labelling system that includes warnings on products that are high in sodium. FDA must use all possible tools at its disposal to stop companies from loading our food up with salt," Greenthal said.
