Urge the FDA to release sodium-reduction targets for industry

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) developed voluntary sodium-reduction targets for the food industry to lower the sodium in food to safer levels. More than three-quarters of the sodium in our diets is from restaurant and packaged foods. Measures to lower sodium are needed to make our food healthier and could save well over 100,000 lives over ten years. So, what’s the FDA waiting for?

Please email the FDA today and ask it to release the targets.

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{contact_data~title} {contact_data~firstName} {contact_data~lastName}

As a concerned citizen, I urge you to act quickly to release the two-year sodium-reduction targets for the food industry. The voluntary targets will make it easier for me to consume safer levels of salt. The targets encourage companies to reduce very high amounts of sodium in food and will help to increase the availability of healthier options.
    Three-quarters of the sodium in our food comes from restaurant and packaged foods, rather than from salt that individuals add at the table or in cooking. I deserve to have more control over the amount of sodium I eat. While I can choose how much salt to add at the table, I cannot remove the salt that is already in my food.
    I am encouraged by your April 15th speech, in which you indicated that you are continuing the agency’s commitment to improving nutrition through the FDA’s Nutrition Innovation Strategy. The release of the sodium targets is a key part of this strategy.
    The targets would go a long way toward preventing costly diet-related disease in this country. Excessive sodium is a major cause of hypertension, which increases risk for heart disease and stroke. Meeting the two-year sodium-reduction targets could prevent tens of thousands of deaths due to cardiovascular disease over the coming years. 
    The short-term sodium targets call for relatively modest reductions, such as 5.5 percent for canned vegetables, 9 percent for poultry deli meats, and 13 percent for canned soup compared to 2010. For 990 mg of sodium in a serving of deli meat, that amounts to removing 90 mg of sodium over the span of two years. As the FDA’s own analysis shows, these modest sodium reductions are achievable.
    Our country’s health depends on this critical work to reduce unsafe levels of sodium in the food supply. I appreciate your support to improve nutrition and urge you to swiftly release the targets.

Sincerely,

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