FDA Issues Final Guidance on Potassium Chloride Labeling

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued final guidance on the use of potassium chloride on food labels. The guidance advises “food manufacturers of its intent to exercise enforcement discretion for the name ‘potassium salt’ in the ingredient statement on food labels as an alternative to ‘potassium chloride’ to better inform consumers that it is a salt substitute.”

“Potassium chloride, in some instances, can be used as a partial substitute for sodium chloride (referred to as ‘salt’) in food processing and manufacturing,” the constituent update notes. “Providing this enforcement discretion may help facilitate consumers’ choices to decrease their sodium consumption, if manufacturers use potassium chloride as a substitute ingredient for some sodium chloride.”