But numerous health groups have for years urged strong measures. About one-third of Americans have high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for stroke, heart attack, and kidney disease. Increasing levels of sodium are linked with high blood pressure.
Both have risen steadily in recent decades - the average person now consumes 50 percent more than the recommended maximum - as people have eaten more processed food and taken more meals in restaurants, which often serve large portions of salty fare.
Various efforts to change consumer behavior have made little difference. Only 15 percent of people get less than the recommended maximum 2,300 mg.
At Chili's, for example, not a single taco or burger platter on the menu contains less than this daily total, according to its Web site.
With the exception of Philadelphia, which this month became the first major jurisdiction in the nation to require that chains list sodium and other nutritional information on printed menus, it is difficult for consumers to tell what is in their food. One recommendation by the panel is that Congress consider putting sodium on menus.
But the key recommendation is that the Food and Drug Administration begin to mandate a series of incremental reductions in the maximum amount of salt - mainly sodium - that can be added to foods and beverages. Anything above the maximum would be illegal.
The food agency already has the authority to regulate salt, the panel said, as part of its powers to approve food additives unless they fall under a category known as generally recognized as safe.
