USDA Monitors Levels of Added Sodium in Commercial Packaged and Restaurant Foods

Abstract

This manuscript describes progress by the Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL) in monitoring sodium in processed and prepared foods frequently consumed by the U.S. population. Recent concerns by the U.S. public health community about the intake of sodium by Americans have led ARS, USDA to develop a plan to monitor the levels of sodium in highly consumed commercial packaged and restaurant foods. NDL scientists worked with USDA's Food Surveys Research Group (FSRG) to identify 125 Sentinel Foods, to serve as indicators for assessment of change in the sodium content in the food supply. For each food (e.g., cheese pizza) NDL used market share data to identify the predominant brands and types of foods (e.g., frozen cheese pizza, restaurant pizza) to be monitored for changes in the sodium level over time. Periodically, nutrient values for frequently consumed foods will be updated by chemical analysis or label checks. Estimates will be compared to existing values in the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR). Since 2010, about 140 foods have been sampled and analyzed by NDL contractors. NDL will continue to generate new sodium data which will be disseminated in the successive releases of the SR. Accurate and current data for sodium in processed foods will support the assessment of changes in sodium in foods as well as the assessment of sodium intake by the U.S. population in the years ahead.