Regulatory Watch

FDA to Amend Standards of Identity to Include Salt Substitutes

The FDA aims to give food manufacturers the flexibility to reduce sodium content in standardized foods in alignment with the agency’s public health goals.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing to change its standard of identity regulations, including salt (sodium chloride) as a required or optional ingredient, to permit the use of salt substitutes.

The agency says the goal is to reduce sodium content in standardized foods, noting that cutting sodium content could reduce the risk of hypertension, which is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke. The proposed rule, if finalized, could facilitate industry innovation while maintaining the basic nature and essential characteristics of the standardized foods.

The proposed rule doesn’t include specific salt substitutes, but it would cover the use of ingredients and combinations of ingredients currently and in the future. The FDA cited examples, such as potassium chloride, herbs, spices, yeast extracts, monosodium glutamate (MSG), amino acids and dairy extracts.

Additionally, the rule wouldn’t establish a minimum salt replacement level or specific sodium content for the foods, nor would it establish any production parameters.

The standards of identity that would change include:

Acidified milk
Cultured milk
Sour cream
Eggnog
Bread, rolls and buns
Self-rising flour
Self-rising corn meal
Macaroni and noodle products
Canned applesauce and figs
Fruit butter
Canned beans, corn, peas, mushrooms and other vegetables
Canned tomatoes, tomato concentrates, tomato juice and catsup
Canned oysters, Pacific salmon, wet-pack shrimp and tuna
Chocolate liquor, sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate and breakfast cocoa
Margarine
Cane, maple, sorghum and table syrup
Mayonnaise
Salad dressing