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National Salt and Sugar Reduction Initiative (NSSRI)

Diet-related diseases are among the leading causes of death in the U.S.. The typical American diet is high in sodium and added sugars, which can negatively impact health. In the U.S., more than two-thirds of adults and nearly one-third of children have overweight or obesity. About one-third of adults have high blood pressure. These conditions increase the risk for preventable illness, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some cancers.

The National Salt and Sugar Reduction Initiative (NSSRI) is a partnership of organizations and health authorities from across the country (PDF), convened by the NYC Health Department. The initiative sets voluntary reduction targets for sugar and salt and asks food and beverage companies to commit to meeting them.

The NSSRI released two rounds of preliminary sugar categories and draft targets for technical comment in 2018 and 2019. In February 2021 the initiative released its targets for sugar reduction across 15 categories of foods and beverages.

For more information, email sugar@health.nyc.gov.

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