Last verified 17 Sep 2026 · Sources
“Sodium free” (or “no sodium,” “zero sodium”) means your product contains less than 5 mg of sodium per Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC) and per labeled serving; for a meal or main dish product, less than 5 mg per labeled serving (21 CFR 101.61(b)(1)(i)). No reference food is needed; this is an absolute claim, not a comparison. The trap you’re most likely to hit isn’t the number. It’s the related terms that look like synonyms but carry their own conditions: “salt free” must independently meet the sodium-free test, and “unsalted”/”no salt added” require specific processing facts plus, often, a disclosure statement next to the panel.
| Quick facts | Sodium free |
|---|---|
| Regulation | 21 CFR 101.61(b)(1) |
| Threshold | <5 mg sodium per RACC and per labeled serving (no per-50 g test) |
| Claim type | absolute |
| Reference food needed | No |
| Disclosure statement | Not applicable |
| Wordings FDA allows | No sodium, Zero sodium, Salt free, Unsalted, No salt added, Trivial source of sodium |
What the rule says
The governing text, quoted verbatim from 21 CFR 101.61(b)(1)(i): “The food contains less than 5 milligrams (mg) of sodium per reference amount customarily consumed and per labeled serving or, in the case of a meal product or a main dish product, less than 5 mg of sodium per labeled serving.” FDA also allows “free of sodium,” “without sodium,” “trivial source of sodium,” “negligible source of sodium,” and “dietarily insignificant source of sodium” as the same claim. The food must also contain no ingredient that is sodium chloride or generally understood to contain sodium, unless that ingredient is asterisked to a statement that it “adds a trivial amount of sodium.”
Two related claims live in the same section, verified directly on eCFR:
- Salt free: 21 CFR 101.61(c)(1): “The term ‘salt free’ may be used on the label or in labeling of foods only if the food is ‘sodium free’ as defined in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.” There’s no separate, looser salt-free number.
- Unsalted / without added salt / no salt added: 21 CFR 101.61(c)(2): permitted only if (i) no salt is added during processing, (ii) the food it resembles and substitutes for is normally processed with salt, and (iii) if the food is not sodium free, the label carries “not a sodium free food” or “not for control of sodium in the diet” adjacent to the Nutrition Facts panel. A narrow exception at 101.61(c)(3) lets “unsalted” describe taste on foods for infants and children under 2, without meeting (c)(2), as long as it isn’t misleading.
If your food is naturally sodium free rather than reformulated to get there, 21 CFR 101.13(e)(2) requires the label to say so honestly: the claim “shall indicate that the food inherently meets the criteria and shall clearly refer to all foods of that type,” using FDA’s own example, “corn oil, a sodium-free food”, not phrasing that implies your specific brand engineered the result.
The numbers
The bar is under 5 mg, evaluated on two bases at once: per RACC and per labeled serving. There is no per-50 g version of this test; that basis belongs to the “low sodium” and “very low sodium” paragraphs, not “sodium free.”
Rounding matters here in a way that trips people up. Under 21 CFR 101.9(c), a sodium value under 5 mg is declared as “0 mg” on the printed panel. That’s consistent with the claim: anything that legitimately rounds to zero is, by definition, under 5 mg. The trap runs the other direction: don’t assume a printed “0 mg” by itself proves eligibility if you haven’t actually checked the unrounded lab or database value against both bases (RACC and labeled serving) separately, especially on packages where the labeled serving differs from the RACC.
On the label
A can of plain soda-beverages with no sodium-containing ingredients can typically state “sodium free” using the natural-claim language from 101.13(e)(2) (“a sodium-free food”), since nothing was engineered out. Contrast that with chips: a standard salted chip isn’t sodium free, but an unsalted version can be labeled “unsalted” or “no salt added” under 101.61(c)(2) if no salt is added in processing, with the panel carrying “not a sodium free food” should the chip still measure above 5 mg per RACC.
Mistakes we see
- Printing “unsalted” or “no salt added” without the required “not a sodium free food” disclosure when the product isn’t actually under 5 mg.
- Claiming “salt free” on a product that hasn’t independently cleared the sodium-free threshold. The two terms aren’t separate scales.
- Using brand-specific phrasing (“our sodium-free tortilla chips!”) on a food that was never processed to remove sodium, instead of the inherent-food language 101.13(e)(2) requires.
- Adding any sodium content claim to a label that was otherwise exempt under 21 CFR 101.9(j)(13)(i) (small package) or 101.9(j)(4) (insignificant amounts of all nutrients). Both exemptions require the label to carry no nutrition claims, so the claim itself forces a full Nutrition Facts panel.
- Confusing this claim’s basis (RACC and labeled serving) with the small-RACC per-50 g test that applies to “low” and “very low” sodium claims, not this one.
Related claims
See low sodium and very low sodium for the ≤140 mg and ≤35 mg tiers, reduced sodium for comparative claims, fat free for the parallel absolute-claim structure, and healthy for how sodium interacts with that implied claim. Background reading: nutrient content claims and rounding rules.
Check your label
NutriLabels’ builder runs your product’s numbers against this threshold on every basis the rule names (per RACC and per labeled serving) and tells you which sodium wordings, exactly, your product qualifies to print.
Choosing between “sodium free,” “salt free,” and “no salt added” with your numbers in hand means the wording on your package matches what’s in it. Enter your recipe, then see your label: free with no card required, you see your calories, the claims you qualify for, your allergen line and the nutrient to watch, and every other value and %DV stays hidden until you unlock it. $29 unlocks every other nutrient value and %DV, every FDA format your product qualifies for, the ingredient statement and allergen declaration, and the disclosure language a “no salt added” claim may require. Start your label or see the next tier at low sodium.
Sodium free claim FAQ
Is "sodium free" the same threshold as "salt free"?
Yes. 21 CFR 101.61(c)(1) says "salt free" can only be used if the food already meets the "sodium free" definition in (b)(1); there is no separate, looser number for "salt free."
Can I say "no salt added" if my product still has some sodium?
Yes, if no salt was added during processing and the food you're substituting for is normally salted (21 CFR 101.61(c)(2)). If the result isn't sodium free, the label needs "not a sodium free food" or "not for control of sodium in the diet" next to the Nutrition Facts panel.
Does "sodium free" use the small-RACC per-50 g test like "low sodium" does?
No. Per the regulation text, the "sodium free" threshold applies per RACC and per labeled serving only. The per-50 g test is written into the "low" and "very low" sodium paragraphs, not the "free" one.
Can a naturally sodium-free food use the claim?
Yes, but 21 CFR 101.13(e)(2) requires the label to make clear the food is inherently that way (e.g., "corn oil, a sodium-free food") rather than implying your brand specifically removed sodium.
Will "sodium free" void a small-package label exemption?
It can. Both the under-12-square-inch exemption (21 CFR 101.9(j)(13)(i)) and the insignificant-nutrients exemption (101.9(j)(4)) only apply to labels that carry no nutrition claims. Adding "sodium free" pulls the label back into full Nutrition Facts requirements.
Related claims
Low sodium, Reduced sodium, Fat free, Healthy. See the full all label claims.