He and CSPI frequently use colorful terms to emphasize their opposition to certain foods, for instance referring to Fettuccine Alfredo as a "heart attack on a plate".

[9] In 2022, after he resigned from CSPI's board of directors and his position as senior scientist, Jacobson founded the National Food Museum.

His publicity campaigns and legal actions regarding such harmful ingredients as urethane (a carcinogen) in alcoholic beverages, sulfite preservatives (deadly allergen) in fresh vegetables, wine, and other foods; sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite (sources of cancer-causing nitrosamines) in bacon and other processed meats; olestra (an artificial fat); and acrylamide (a carcinogenic contaminant) in baked and fried foods led to governmental restrictions or voluntary actions to reduce or eliminate those substances.

[12] Beginning in 1993, Jacobson spearheaded efforts to require that artificial trans fat, a potent cause of heart disease, be labelled on food packages.

[16] A review stated that "Jacobson's book presents a well-researched case for Americans to pursue a diet embracing increased plant intake and decreased consumption of factory-farmed meat".

In addition to publishing several books and reports, CSPI's work led to the FDA's issuing voluntary sodium-reduction guidelines in October 2021.

Jacobson stepped down as executive director of CSPI in October 2017 and then, as a senior scientist at CSPI, published Salt Wars: The Battle Over the Biggest Killer in the American Diet..[18] That book addresses the scientific controversy about the health impact of lowering sodium consumption, industry opposition to government action to lower sodium, and advice to consumers.

Due to the public-interest passion he brings to his efforts and in part to his criticisms of the food industry, Jacobson's methods have been questioned by the libertarian community, with the Center for Consumer Freedom awarding him "nanny of the year" on three occasions.

However, Jacobson contends that "kids know about vending machines, and they can go to 7-Eleven and get a Big Gulp which contains half a gallon (0.5 US gal (1,900 ml))—a thousand calories, almost!—of soda pop in a single serving... We've come a long way from the six-and-a-half ounce (6.5 US fluid ounces (190 ml)) Coke bottles some 50 years ago.