In 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued Phase I voluntary sodium reduction targets to encourage manufacturers to lower the amount of sodium in packaged food products by 2024. The targets appear to have had minimal impact, according to a study comparing the sodium content of new products introduced before and after the guidance was issued.
Our findings suggest that sodium content in newly introduced products did not decrease across nine packaged food categories contributing to most dietary sodium in the U.S., and even increased in four categories, despite the voluntary targets issued by the FDA. These findings suggest that the food industry is not incorporating the 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, study’s first author
Kusnadi will present the findings at NUTRITION 2026, the flagship annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, held July 25-28 in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C.
Excess sodium consumption is among the leading drivers of hypertension and raises 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, equivalent to about a teaspoon of table salt.
Since most of the sodium we consume comes from packaged and restaurant foods-rather than salt added at the table or while cooking at home-health officials issued the voluntary guidance as a way to reduce the population’s sodium consumption by encouraging reformulation that manufacturers would implement in their packaged foods.
Researchers analyzed the sodium content listed on the Nutrition Facts Label of packaged food products introduced in the United States from 2015-2025 (six years before and four years after the voluntary guidance was issued in 2021). They examined the sodium content of foods across nine major sodium-contributing categories: breads and bread products, pizzas, sandwiches/wraps, meat products, corn-based snacks, potato snacks, popcorn, dry soups, and wet soups. Across 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 a substantial body of evidence that voluntary, non-binding targets are a less effective approach to meaningfully reduce the sodium content of the food supply,” said Matti Marklund, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the study’s senior author. “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 that were newly introduced to the U.S. market based on data from the Mintel Global New Product Database, which includes packaged food products sold in supermarkets and top retail channels that are newly introduced or have had changes to formulation or packaging. While the study methodology is well-suited for evaluating industry trends, it does not capture the totality of all products on shelves and does not assess the sodium intake of individuals, which may help to show a more complete picture regarding the success of sodium reduction efforts.
Consumers can reduce their sodium intake by cooking at home, relying less on prepared and packaged foods, and reading nutrition labels to choose products that are lower in sodium. While such measures can help individuals reduce their sodium intake, the researchers said that strong policies are needed to lower population sodium consumption and meaningfully reduce the related 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.
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