Dive Brief:
- Appropriators approved a provision to the House agriculture spending bill during markup Tuesday that would provisionally block the FDA from setting voluntary sodium reduction targets for food and beverage manufacturers, reports Politico. Susan Mayne, director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said during the Grocery Manufacturers Science Forum, "Our emphasis is on releasing draft voluntary targets so we can begin dialogue with industry."
- Per the provision, the FDA would not be able to set those targets until the Institute of Medicine and CDC adjusts the Dietary Reference Intake for sodium.
- However, that update process could take at least 18 months, which would fall into the next presidential administration. Sodium reduction has been a key goal of the Obama administration, and industry leaders' concerns grew as regulators appeared to be mounting an effort to get the target process moving before the end of the presidential term.
Dive Insight:
The FDA has been given a June 1 deadline to respond to a decade-old petition from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, reports Politico. The agency's lack of response has already led to a lawsuit CSPI filed in October. If left unable to establish sodium reduction targets due to this provision, it's unclear how this could impact the FDA's response to the petition or CSPI's lawsuit.
As for manufacturers, many will be relieved by the additional time to prepare for potential reduction targets in the future. Ingredients companies have created specialized ingredients to help manufacturers reduce sodium. Umamix Bold is an all-natural ingredient that reduces sodium up to 30%, and Tate & Lyle's SODA-LO Salt Microspheres could decrease U.S. consumers' daily sodium intake by 7% to 9%.
Certain companies will voluntarily reduce sodium in their portfolios before the FDA has the chance to release official guidance, as Mars announced it would last week.