Eat less salt ... or else

“Put down the salt shaker and back away from the table. And don’t even think about going for the chips.” Those are lines you may hear on a TV police drama of the future, when the federal drive to curb salt consumption reaches cruising speed. Last year, the government’s Institute of Medicine urged the Food and Drug Administration to “gradually step down the maximum amount of salt that can be added to foods, beverages, and meals.”

The FDA is listening. In September, it published a notice concerning issues “associated with the development of targets for sodium reduction in foods to promote reduction of excess sodium intake.”