January 4, 2007

USDA urged to impose salt limits on processed meat and poultry

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is urging the USDA to establish limits of sodium in various categories of meat and poultry products, saying that consumers are taking in harmful levels of salt in these products.

According to researchers, halving the salt content in processed and restaurant foods would save thousands of lives a year in the US.

While fresh beef, pork, chicken and turkey are naturally low in sodium, many processors sell enhanced products high in salt content.

While different brands of processed meats may appear similar, the sodium content often varies widely from brand to brand, the CSPI said. The fact the variability exists show that manufacturers could reduce salt while still marketing safe, tasty and competitive products, the CSPI maintained.  

The current average daily intake of sodium of about 3,400 milligrammes a day far exceeds the

Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recommended amount of 2,400 milligrammes and the Department of Health and Human Services' recommendation of 1,500 milligrammes for middle-aged and older adults.

Since the USDA already has set nutritional standards on processed meat and poultry products, such as limits on fat content, preservatives or additives, the agency should set similar limits for sodium chloride, which is reaching dangerous levels, said CSPI executive director Michael Jacobson, PhD.

While Americans now spend more than US$15 billion a year on blood pressure medications, the government spends almost nothing to encourage Americans to cut back on salt or encouraging food manufacturers to reduce salt levels in foods, Jacobson said. 

CSPI has long petitioned the FDA to treat salt as a food additive to subject it to more stringent regulations, but had been ignored by the agency for more than 20 years, Jacobson said.

The USDA should take the lead and not wait for the FDA, who apparently would rather focus on expensive new drug therapies for high blood pressure than preventing it in the first place, Jacobson said.