NEW YORK, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The New York city that banned smoking and artificial trans fat is now leading an assault on salt. The city's Health Department announced on Monday that it intends to cut the salt in packaged and restaurant foods by 25 percent over five years.

    This "achievement would reduce the nation's salt intake by 20 percent and prevent many thousands of premature deaths," according to a department press release, which says that Americans consume roughly twice the recommended limit of salt each day, causing widespread high blood pressure and placing millions at risk of heart attack and stroke.

    "Consumers can always add salt to food, but they can't take it out," Thomas Farley, New York City health commissioner, said in a statement. "At current levels, the salt in our diets poses health risks for people with normal blood pressure, and it's even riskier for the 1.5 million New Yorkers with high blood pressure. If we can reduce the sodium levels in packaged and restaurant foods, we will give consumers more choice about the amount of salt they eat, and reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke in the process."

    While only 11 percent of the sodium in Americans' diets comes from their own saltshakers, nearly 80 percent is added to foods before they are sold, said the statement.

    The National Salt Reduction Initiative -- a New York City-led partnership of cities, states and national health organizations --has developed specific targets to help companies reduce the salt levels in 61 categories of packaged food and 25 classes of restaurant food.

    The recommended daily limit for sodium intake is 1,500 milligrams for most adults, including anyone who is black or over 40, and 2,300 mg for others. Surprisingly, much of the salt in Americans' diets comes from breads, muffins and other foods that don't taste salty.

    The voluntary initiative came as the United States finds itself embroiled in a national debate on health care. The sodium in salt is a major contributor to high blood pressure, which in turn causes heart attacks and strokes, the nation's leading causes of preventable death. These conditions cause 23,000 deaths in New York City alone each year -- more than 800,000 nationwide -- and cost Americans billions in healthcare expenses, according to the press release.

    "Excess sodium greatly increases the chance of developing hypertension, heart disease and stroke," said J. James Rohack, president of the American Medical Association. "The AMA has long supported a reduction of sodium in processed foods, fast food products and restaurant meals as a means to lower sodium intake and reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease among Americans."

    New York City is not alone in its fight to cut out salt. In Britain, an effort by the food industry and government has already resulted in salt reductions of 40 percent or more in some food products. The goal is to reduce the salt in processed and restaurant foods by one-third by 2010. The effort comes at a good time, perhaps, as the island nation is now fighting a salt shortage for its roads during snowy weather.