The agency wants to lower how much salt we consume over the next three years to an average of 2,750 milligrams per day. That’s still above the recommended limit of 2,300 mg.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday laid out fresh goals to cut sodium levels in packaged and processed foods by about 20%, after its prior efforts to address a growing epidemic of diet-related chronic diseases showed early signs of success.
The FDA in October 2021 had set guidelines to trim sodium levels in foods ranging from potato chips to hamburgers in a bid to prevent excessive intake of salt that can trigger high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
The agency is now seeking voluntary curbs from packaged-food makers such as PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz and Campbell Soup. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
I switched to a whole food plant based diet 7 or 8 years ago and have avoided most junk food since then. Now if I eat regular potato chips it tastes like drinking from a salt shaker.
We’ve been flavor blasted, we can’t taste anything unless it’s buried in salt. Meanwhile people are taking blood pressure drugs instead of eating a vegetable. I don’t think it’s bad that these products exist but it would do humanity some good to tone it down a bit. It’s a war to see who can make the best tasting food but there are serious health implications on a large scale as a result. Better options and labelling would go a long way I think.
