Profs Petition FDA for Salt Regulation

In response to reports of increased salt consumption nationwide, three Harvard professors joined a group of health organizations to petition the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), asking the government agency to focus on lowering salt consumption.

Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) Dr. Carlos A. Camargo, Assistant Professor of Medicine Dr. Frank B. Hu, and Professor of Medicine at HSPH, Frank M. Sacks all signed a cover letter of support which accompanied the petition.

In the petition filed on Monday, the Center for Science in the Public Interest—the organization responsible for submitting the petition—asked the FDA to revoke the “Generally Recognized as Safe” status of salt and to require food manufacturers to reduce the amount of salt in processed foods. The petition said that the FDA’s effort to get food manufacturers to voluntarily lower salt levels since 1979 have “failed miserably.”

Referring to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the petition states that the average daily sodium consumption is substantially higher than recommended and has increased over the past 25 years, rising from about 2,800 mg in 1976–80 to about 3,400 mg in 1999–2000. The petition also refers to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, jointly released by the Department for Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, which estimates that 75 percent of daily sodium comes from processed foods and foods outside the home.

“The problem is that food companies have created this Catch-22 situation,” said Sacks, who conducted a 2000 study linking lower blood pressure with reduced sodium intake. “They’ve gradually been increasing the salt levels [in food], and they’ve gotten people accustomed to high salt, and it’s a cycle that’s been put in place.”

Harvard University Health Services Chief of Medicine, Dr. Soheyla D. Gharib, said that a healthy, low-sodium diet means avoiding sodas and canned foods.

“Eating fresh produce is better than getting frozen [food], and avoid anything with preservatives in it.” Gharib said, warning that poor diet habits are on the rise in adolescents.

“Harvard students are not immune,” she said.

To promote healthy eating habits, Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) keeps sodium levels down in the dining halls, said HUDS Communications Coordinator Jami Snyder, by avoiding processed foods and limiting salt in dishes, most notably in vegetables.

“We reduce salt usage in two ways,” Snyder said. “We avoid entirely canned & preserved [foods] with higher sodium content, and have only fresh and flavorful foods, with less salt. We would rather be cautious and let you add [salt] at the table.”

She added that HUDS offers salt-free dressings at the salad bar, letting students create their own dressing if they prefer to avoid sodium.

Last year, as part of its “Savory Spotlight” program, which aims to instruct students about food, HUDS focused on the topic of salt and the dangers of excess salt in the diet, focusing on the government’s recommended daily salt intake, Snyder said.

At Annenberg Dining Hall, some students say that salt excess appears unlikely.

“I don’t use the table salt. I’ve never seen anyone use the table salt,” said Zachary H. Taxin ’09. “The food’s usually too salty. The only time people use it is with the eggs.”

According to the HUDS website, undergraduate table salt consumption was down 40 percent last year.