In 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued voluntary Phase I sodium reduction targets to encourage manufacturers to reduce the amount of sodium in packaged foods by 2024. The targets appear to have had little impact, according to a study comparing the sodium content of new products introduced before and after the guidance was issued.
Our findings suggest that the sodium content of newly introduced products did not decrease in nine categories of packaged foods that contributed the majority of dietary sodium in the US, and actually increased in four categories, despite voluntary targets issued by the FDA. These findings suggest that the food industry is not incorporating sodium targets into new product development and innovation.”
Kenny Kusnadi, MSPH, graduate student researcher in the Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, first author of the study
Kusnadi will present the findings at NUTRITION 2026, the American Society for Nutrition’s flagship annual meeting, held July 25-28 in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC
Excessive sodium consumption is one of the main factors in hypertension and increases the risk of stroke, heart attacks and heart failure. Studies have shown that most Americans consume far more than the recommended upper limit of 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day, which is equivalent to about a teaspoon of table salt.
Since most of the sodium we eat comes from packaged and restaurant foods — rather than salt added at the table or when cooking at home — health officials issued the voluntary guidance as a way to reduce the population’s sodium intake by encouraging reformulation that manufacturers will apply to packaged foods.
The researchers analyzed the sodium content listed on the Nutrition Facts label of packaged food products imported into the United States from 2015-2025 (six years before and four years after the voluntary guidance was issued in 2021). They looked at the sodium content of foods in nine main sodium-contributing categories: breads and bread products, pizzas, sandwiches/wraps, meat products, corn-based snacks, potato snacks, popcorn, dry soups, and liquid soups. In all nine categories combined, sodium content did not differ between products introduced before and after 2021. In fact, sodium levels were higher in products introduced after 2021 in four categories: dry soups, popcorn, bread and bread products, and corn-based snacks.
“These findings add to an important body of evidence that voluntary, non-binding targets are a less effective approach to significantly reducing the sodium content of the food supply,” said Matti Marklund, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, senior author of the study. “The available evidence, including our analysis, suggests that future efforts need stronger accountability mechanisms, such as mandatory sodium targets with financial consequences for non-compliance.”
The study focused on products newly introduced to the US market based on data from the Mintel Global New Product Database, which includes packaged foods sold in supermarkets and leading retail channels that were recently introduced or had changes in formulation or packaging. While the study’s methodology is suitable for assessing industry trends, it does not capture all products on the shelves and does not assess individuals’ sodium intake, which may help paint a more complete picture of the success of sodium reduction efforts.
Consumers can reduce sodium intake by cooking at home, relying less on ready-to-eat and packaged foods, and reading nutrition labels to choose products with lower sodium content. While such measures can help individuals reduce their sodium intake, the researchers said strong policies are needed to reduce population sodium consumption and significantly reduce the relative burden of hypertension, stroke and heart disease in the United States. The FDA introduced Phase II sodium reduction targets in August 2024 and is expected to issue a formal evaluation of the Phase I targets later this year.
