FDA’s Sodium Targets A Step In The Right Direction

The FDA’s release of proposed voluntary targets provides direction for the food industry as it seeks to reduce the sodium in their products to moderate, healthy levels. This starts an important discussion about the sodium content in our food supply and gives the food industry goals to work toward. While the FDA adjusts and finalizes the targets over the next year, members of the food industry should take steps now — if they haven’t already — to start reformulating their products. The importance of this cannot be understated, as the average American consumes more than 3,400 milligrams of sodium per day, which is more than double the 1,500 milligrams recommended for ideal heart health by my organization, the American Heart Association, and way above the maximum of 2,300 milligrams recommended by the U.S. government. But, as the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.