CSPI Urges Congress to Pass Legislation Aimed At Reducing Sodium Levels in Food
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has launched a campaign to halve the amount of sodium in prepackaged foods and restaurant meals within 10 years. CSPI Executive Director Michael Jacobson this week presented the group’s case to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, claiming that “Because it raises blood pressure and increases the risk of hypertension, heart attacks and kidney disease, salt is arguably the most harmful ingredient in our food supply.” According to Jacobson, “Gradually reducing sodium levels in packaged and restaurant foods by half would ultimately save an estimated 150,000 lives and billions of dollars annually.”
Jacobson’s testimony underscored a concurrent CSPI exposé on restaurant meals that contain more than 4,000 mg of sodium per plate. The consumer advocacy group apparently examined meals at 17 restaurant chains, finding that “85 out of 102 meals had more than a day’s worth of sodium, and some had more than four days’ worth,” including some plates at Red Lobster, Chili’s and Olive Garden. “A lifetime of eating much more than the recommended amounts of sodium presents an increased risk of disease in the long term,” stated a May 11, 2009, CSPI
press release. “But for some, particularly the elderly, consuming 4,000 mg or more of sodium in a single meal can present an immediate risk of heart failure or other serious problems.”
Jacobson also asked the Senate Finance Committee to consider other health care reform measures, such as imposing a federal excise tax on non-diet soft drinks, certain fruit drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks, and ready-to-drink teas to help pay for the overhaul of the nation’s health care system. The Congressional Budget Office has reportedly estimated that adding a tax of 3 cents per 12-ounce serving to sweetened beverages would generate $24 billion during the next four years. Beverage lobbies, however, have argued that such a tax would unfairly hit lower-income Americans and not deter consumption.
In addition, Jacobson recommended that the government (i) raise the tax on distilled spirits by 50 percent and equalize the beer and wine rates; (ii) eliminate trans fats from the food supply; and (iii) promote intensive lifestyle counseling in the treatment of heart disease. “Americans spend north of $15 billion to treat high blood pressure, and many billions more on expensive heart procedures, yet the government spends peanuts improving Americans’ diets,” he said. See The Wall Street Journal and MediaPost, May 12, 2009.
