Processors have launched a number of initiatives and seen broad success in reducing and/or eliminating sodium from retail products.
In the months since E-dition's last report on food sodium reduction (http://www.preparedfoods.com/articles/111914-sodium-solutions?v=preview), processors have launched a number of initiatives and seen broad success in reducing and/or eliminating sodium from retail products.
On February 11, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that 21 companies had managed one or more voluntary commitments to reduce the amount of sodium in prepackaged or restaurant foods. The commitment was part of the National Salt Reduction Initiative (NSRI), the first-of-its-kind nationwide partnership to reduce sodium levels in U.S. foods. Started in 2009, the partnership now involves more than 90 city and state health authorities and organizations and aims to reduce salt in packaged and restaurant goods by 25% during a five-year period through voluntary corporate commitments. It estimates that level of reduction will reduce the nation's sodium consumption by 20%. The program is modeled on a U.K. initiative which has managed to reduce salt levels by 40% or more in some products.