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From the Washington Post:

Pepsico has developed a new shape for sodium chloride crystals that the company hopes will allow it to reduce salt by 25 percent in its Lay’s Classic potato chips.

A new shape for salt? How about that. I suppose the crystals somehow have more surface area or something like that. More importantly, though, this comes from an article describing a new FDA initiative to reduce the amount of salt in food:

The government intends to work with the food industry and health experts to reduce sodium gradually over a period of years to adjust the American palate to a less salty diet, according to FDA sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the initiative has not been formally announced. ….”This is a 10-year program,” said one source. “This is not rolling off a log. We’re talking about a comprehensive phase down of a widely used ingredient. We’re talking about embedded tastes in a whole generation of people.”

I am so in favor of this. It’s sort of like the Do Not Call list: I don’t really care about ideology here, and I don’t really care if this is nanny statism or government overreach or anything else. I’m just totally in favor. And you know what? By the time this is done, my guess is that nobody will even remember a difference. They’ll just be eating healthier food that tastes better and doesn’t cause as many strokes or heart attacks. Three cheers for the FDA.