Nestle calls on FDA to issue lower sodium targets

WASHINGTON -- Nestle, the world's largest food and beverage company, announced Thursday it is accelerating sodium reduction efforts and is calling on the FDA to issue new voluntary targets.

Nestle says it is committed to helping people consume no more than 2,000 milligrams of sodium per day, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) – a target that is lower than the current U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommendation of 2,300 milligrams per day.

"Our food and beverages provide nutrition to people in 189 countries, and with this scale we have a powerful platform to contribute to better global health outcomes, including for heart health," said Paul Grimwood, Chairman and CEO, Nestlé USA. "We are committed to constantly improving the nutritional profile of our products, but we also recognize that effective solutions to public health challenges require broad, multi-stakeholder efforts. This is why we encourage our industry colleagues, along with others in both the private and public sector, to join forces and combine our varied expertise to help people move toward healthier eating patterns, including a diet lower in sodium."

Nestle also said it will increase the number of foods and beverages across its global portfolio that could reasonably fit into a dietary pattern that contains less than 2,000 milligrams of sodium per day (currently 43 percent of Nestlé's foods meet this target).

In the U.S., where Nestle products are found in 97% of households, progress to-date in sodium reduction includes:

• 
  Reducing sodium by an average of 10% compared to 2013 levels in 250 products across the entire portfolio of six Nestle pizza and snack brands -- DIGIORNO, TOMBSTONE, CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN, JACK'S, HOT POCKETS and LEAN POCKETS.


• 
  Now, 99% of Lean Cuisine entrees can reasonably fit into a dietary pattern that contains less than 2,000 milligrams of sodium per day.