FDA To Propose Salt Tax In America?
Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States released guidelines for the food industry to limit the amount of sodium in processed foods and also provided a voluntary target for reducing the sodium targets.
The FDA's proposal has come amidst the sugar taxes imposed by a number of jurisdictions in the country. While the sugar taxes have been imposed to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks and food products and to raise revenues, it is being speculated that the federal agency might advocate a similar impose across all jurisdictions, this time in the form of a salt tax.
In addition to the sugar tax, the country has steadily increased tobacco taxes as well in recent years. Now, the FDA has initiated to put a limit on salt consumption by proposing short-term and long-term voluntary goals for salt consumption for a variety of food items. The federal agency has asked food producers to "target mean sodium concentrations for each food category."
According to the FDA, more than 35 countries around the world have already introduced similar programs and guidelines to control the consumption of salt. While New Zealand is debating for a salt tax, Hungary already has one in place.
The documents supporting the new regulations associate excessive salt consumption with an increased risk of hypertension, which may lead to stroke and heart disease. These two conditions are the fifth and the first leading cause of deaths in the United States, respectively.
The proper connection between salt consumption and the health of an individual is entirely not clear. Still, a majority of health experts around the world supports the idea of minimal salt consumption.
Given that the FDA has come up with new guidelines, it is yet to see whether the agency would be able to limit the salt consumption. In case it fails, imposing salt taxes would be one viable option for the government, forcing processed food producers to look for alternative herbs and spices with high salt content.
