THURSDAY, Aug. 15, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced Phase II of its initial efforts to cut dietary salt intake by Americans.

U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend that a person consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day, the equivalent of about one teaspoon of salt. However, Americans typically take in far higher amounts than recommended, averaging about 3,400 mg/day before 2021, the FDA noted in a news release.

Phase 1 of the FDA voluntary sodium-reduction targets for the food industry were issued in 2021, and according to the agency, “preliminary data from 2022 show about 40 percent of the initial Phase I targets are very close to or have already been reached, indicating early success of this effort.”

That level of success has spurred the agency to begin Phase II.

“If finalized, the new set of voluntary targets would support reducing average individual sodium intake to about 2,750 mg per day,” the FDA said.

The new initiative is expected to coincide with the U.S. Department of Agriculture efforts to limit sodium in school meals.

“Reducing sodium in the food supply has the potential to be one of the most important public health initiatives in a generation,” Jim Jones, FDA deputy commissioner for human foods, said in the agency statement. “The early successes we’re seeing with sodium level reduction in certain foods is encouraging and indicative of the impact we believe our overall nutrition approach can have on the well-being of society.”

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