On September 15, both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published a notice in the Federal Register titled “Approaches to Reducing Sodium Consumption; Establishment of Dockets; Request for Comments, Data, and Information.” The agencies are interested in research that will help them better understand current and emerging industry practices as it relates to sodium reduction in foods. The agencies are also interested in learning about consumer’s understanding of the role of sodium in hypertension and other chronic illnesses. In the notice the agencies recognize the efforts of the restaurant and packaged food industries to reduce sodium in foods.
The Federal Register notice can be found at: www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/2011-0014.pdf. Comments are due by November 29.
