Saving Lives Through Salt Reduction

Reducing salt intake among Americans could save thousands of lives, as well as billions of healthcare dollars. Back in the fall of 2009, the National Salt Reduction Initiative (NSRI) was born and has slowly gained acceptance by major food companies. The initiative has developed specific targets to guide company salt reductions across 62 categories of packaged food and 25 categories of restaurant food. The food companies committing to targets today will reduce sodium in 29 of the NSRI packaged food categories. Six companies are joining forces with NSRI:

The company commits to meeting the NSRI on the East Coast. The company will reduce sodium levels in the products it manufactures across 22 packaged-food categories, including frozen pizza, cereal and butter.

Furmano’s: supplier of foods to consumers and restaurants, will cut salt across its varieties of canned beans, baked beans and tomatoes.

Hostess: one of the largest wholesale bakeries in the country, commits to reducing salt across its entire line of bread products.

Premio: maker of 20 different sausage products, commits to decreasing salt in its uncooked sausages.

Snyder’s of Hanover: the nation’s largest pretzel maker, already meets the NSRI target for pretzels and now commits to cutting the salt in its unflavored chips.