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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed changes to the standards of identity (SOIs) for foods that include salt to permit the use of safe and suitable salt substitutes. The proposed rule would help support a healthier food supply by providing flexibility to facilitate industry innovation in the production of standardized foods to reduce sodium content, in the same manner that is already possible for non-standardized foods. This has the potential to contribute to better health outcomes by helping consumers to gradually reduce their sodium intake.
The proposed rule also complements the goals of the FDA’s voluntary sodium reduction targets for processed, packaged and prepared foods. As part of the Administration’s whole-of-government approach, the FDA has several initiatives to help accelerate efforts to empower consumers with information and create a healthier food supply, such as: developing an updated definition and a voluntary symbol for the “healthy” nutrient content claim, front-of-package labeling, and Dietary Guidance Statements on food labels, as well as establishing recommendations for nutrition labeling for online grocery shopping.
The proposed rule does not list permitted salt substitutes but defines them as safe and suitable ingredients (or a combination of ingredients) used to replace some or all of the salt in a standardised food. The extent to which salt can be replaced depends on the ability of salt substitutes to replace the functions of salt in food without compromising the food safety or other essential characteristics of the food. Salt substitutes are subject to the same labeling requirements as other ingredients and are currently used in non-standardised foods in the US.
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