Front-of-package sodium claims in the United States are not marketing improvisation. The FDA defines them, and a product cannot use the words unless it meets the threshold. The catch is that the definitions differ from each other in ways the phrasing does not make obvious.
The claims, decoded
| On the package | What it legally means |
|---|---|
| Sodium free / salt free | Less than 5 mg of sodium per serving |
| Very low sodium | 35 mg or less per serving |
| Low sodium | 140 mg or less per serving |
| Reduced sodium | At least 25% less sodium than the regular version of that product |
| Light in sodium | At least 50% less sodium than the regular version |
| No salt added / unsalted | No salt added during processing — the food may still contain sodium naturally |
The distinction that matters most
Three of these claims are absolute. Sodium free, very low sodium, and low sodium all name a hard ceiling in milligrams. If a can says low sodium, you know it holds 140 mg or less per serving without turning it over.
Two of them are relative. Reduced sodium and light in sodium only describe a product against its own regular version. If the original soy sauce carried 920 mg per tablespoon, the reduced-sodium bottle can legally hold about 690 mg and still earn the phrase. That is a genuine improvement, and it is still a lot of sodium.
“No salt added” is not “sodium free”
This one catches people regularly. No salt added means exactly what it says: no salt was added during processing. Plenty of foods contain sodium on their own. Milk, celery, beets, and cheese all carry naturally occurring sodium, and canned goods can include sodium-based preservatives that are not sodium chloride.
Unsalted butter is a good example of the claim working as intended. Canned vegetables labeled no salt added are usually a large improvement over the standard version. Neither is a zero.
Sea salt, kosher salt, pink salt
By weight, these are all roughly the same sodium as table salt. The differences are in crystal size, mineral traces, and texture, not chemistry. A coarse flake salt may deliver less sodium per teaspoon simply because fewer crystals fit in the spoon, but per gram it is the same story.
A product advertising sea salt on the front is making a flavor claim, not a sodium claim. If the package does not carry one of the defined phrases above, assume nothing.
What to do with this at the store
- Trust absolute claims at a glance: sodium free, very low sodium, low sodium.
- Verify relative claims on the back: reduced sodium, light in sodium, less sodium.
- Read “no salt added” as “less than usual”, not as “none”.
- Ignore the salt variety on the front of the box entirely.
Scanning the panel with Sodi settles the question in a couple of seconds, which is faster than reasoning about what a claim implies. The claim gets you to pick the box up. The number tells you whether to buy it.
This article is general information about nutrition labels and sodium, not medical advice. If you have been given a specific sodium target, follow the guidance of your doctor or dietitian.