潜水简介：
- Compared to 2009, the food industry reduced sodium levels overall by 6.8% by 2014.
- 根据疾病控制和预防中心的数据，几乎90％的美国成年人食用过多的盐。几个卫生组织建议降低钠消耗量，以改善健康状况，例如高血压，这可能导致心脏病发作或中风。
- 平均饮食中钠的四分之三以上来自包装或餐厅食品。
潜水见解：
2009年，国家减产计划（NSRI）邀请食品工业实现自愿目标，在未来五年内，包装和餐厅食品中的钠和餐厅食品中的钠逐渐减少25％。尽管总体降低6.8％的幅度远低于25％的目标，但它说明了2009年起点的一些进展。
近30家食品公司致力于NSRI目标，其中包括美国一些最大的制造商，超市和餐厅连锁店。尽管食品制造商减少了一些钠的减少，但报告说，餐厅在同一时期的顶级链餐厅食品中钠的变化很小，钠含量的变化很小。
High sodium intake increases blood pressure and the risk of heart disease and stroke. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that reducing salt in foods could prevent hundreds of thousands of premature deaths and illnesses over the course of a decade in the United States. While the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends consuming less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day, for optimal heart health the American Heart Association recommend consumers eat no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day.
6月，FDA发布了proposed new guideline for food manufacturers和restaurants to further reduce sodium levels and to encourage more companies to join this initiative.
Depending upon the application, salt not only acts as a flavoring agent, but can aid in food preservation, stem microbial growth to promote food safety and extend shelf life, enhance texture, and act as a binding agent. Salt is also inexpensive compared to alternative methods of achieving similar flavor or functional results. Consumers are accustomed to certain flavors in their foods and a gradual change allows the palate time to adjust. Still, there aremeasures that manufacturers can takethat will reduce the sodium in some products.
The FDA approach establishes not only reduction targets, but also a system to help define and measure progress in the U.S. food supply. The short-term target seeks to decrease sodium intake to about 3,000 mg per day, lower than the current 3,400 mg per day consumed by the average American, and FDA says this goal is "readily achievable."
Manufacturers that target this goal will not only benefit consumers, but do themselves a favor by improving the image of packaged foods. According to the annual食物与健康调查由国际食品信息委员会出版，有35％的美国人报告试图限制或避免包装食品。主要原因之一是由于它们含有额外的糖，脂肪和盐。
