US govt sued over food salt levels

A consumer group is suing the US government, claiming that salt is killing thousands of people because levels in food are not properly controlled.

The Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has called for regulation, warning that consumers are eating twice the recommended daily amount.

A similar lawsuit was dismissed more than 20 years ago but the group is renewing its claim, calling for sodium to be declared a food additive rather than being “generally recognised as safe”.

The change would allow salt levels to be regulated through warnings on packages and menus or with specific limits.

The centre claims too much salt causes around 150,000 early deaths in the US every year and contributes to high blood pressure which can lead to heart attacks or strokes.

Just one teaspoon of table salt contains the government’s recommended daily dose but most people eat at least twice that, mostly through processed food and takeaways.

Michael Jacobson, CSPI director, said: “There is no way the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) can look at the science and say with a straight face that salt is ’generally recognised as safe’."

He said the federal government should require food manufacturers to gradually lower sodium levels.

When the suit was first brought in 1983 the Food and Drug Administration had just begun requiring sodium content labels on certain foods.

But the new claim contends that the measure has not worked because salt content in foods is higher than ever.