The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday issued new draft guidelines to push restaurants and food manufacturers to reduce the level of salt in their meals.
“While a majority of Americans report watching or trying to reduce added salt in their diets, the deck has been stacked against them,” the FDA wrote in a statement.
{mosads}”The majority of sodium intake comes from processed and prepared foods, not the salt shaker.”
The voluntary guidelines, which serve more as recommendations than rules, are intended to help Americans improve their diets.
“It gives every American more control over their diet and sodium intake,” said Karen DeSalvo, acting assistant health secretary, in a call with reporters on the new guidelines.
“Currently, consumers don’t really have a choice of how much sodium they consume, because more than 70 percent of it is already in the food before it gets to the kitchen table,” added Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The average American consumes 3,400 milligrams of sodium each day, according to the FDA, which is about 50 percent more salt than is recommended.
The FDA wants to cut that level initially to 3,000 mg each day, and eventually reduce it to 2,300 mg each day by encouraging sodium reduction in the food industry.
This would help Americans lower their blood pressure and reduce the likelihood that they will suffer from heart disease or stroke, the FDA said.
This story was updated at 11:04 a.m.