Florida Senate - 2022                                     SM 816
       
       
        
       By Senator Wright
       
       
       
       
       
       14-00819A-22                                           2022816__
    1                           Senate Memorial                         
    2         A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
    3         urging Congress to adopt legislation lowering the
    4         allowable ratio of sodium to potassium in processed
    5         and restaurant foods sold and consumed in the United
    6         States.
    7  
    8         WHEREAS, there is persuasive scientific evidence that a
    9  high ratio of sodium to potassium in the diet of most Americans
   10  predisposes them to stroke and heart disease and increases
   11  mortality rates, and
   12         WHEREAS, about 80 percent of Americans’ sodium intake comes
   13  from processed and restaurant foods, with the average ratio of
   14  sodium to potassium in the American diet at approximately 10:7,
   15  and
   16         WHEREAS, the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of
   17  Medicine, now known as the National Academy of Medicine, in 2005
   18  recommended a ratio of sodium to potassium of approximately 1:3,
   19  and
   20         WHEREAS, a modest decrease in the sodium to potassium ratio
   21  in the nation’s diet would result in a substantial improvement
   22  in the long-term health of millions of Americans, including a
   23  decline in deaths due to stroke and heart disease and a
   24  substantial increase in life expectancy, NOW, THEREFORE,
   25  
   26  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   27  
   28         That the Congress of the United States is urged to adopt
   29  legislation lowering the allowable ratio of sodium to potassium
   30  in processed and restaurant foods sold and consumed in the
   31  United States.
   32         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State dispatch
   33  copies of this memorial to the President of the United States,
   34  the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the
   35  United States House of Representatives, and each member of the
   36  Florida delegation to the United States Congress.