National Restaurant Association to Sue New York City Over Sodium Rule

The proposal was passed unanimously on September 9 by the New York City Board of Health.

Starting Tuesday, some restaurants across New York City are required to roll out new menus highlighting high-sodium items.

The National Restaurant Association, though, announced plans to file a lawsuit, charging that the health department has gone beyond its authority in making restaurants post the warning labels, said Politico.

Chain restaurants that will violate this rule stand to be slapped with a $200 fine, although it is reported that fines will not be issued until March.

Nutritionists we spoke to applaud the progressive move by city health officials. The symbol, a saltshaker in a black triangle, will be placed next to any food item on a menu that contains 2,300 milligrams or more of sodium, the equivalent of the daily recommended intake, according to the New York Times. To put this in context, 2,300 milligrams is the daily recommended limit for total sodium consumption.

According to experts, most of people in America intake too much salt, which makes them more vulnerable to high blood pressure and heart problems. An attempt by former mayor Michael Bloomberg to ban sugary drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces was ultimately rejected by the New York State Court of Appeals. The locality also attempted to restrict the size of sugared beverages.

A separate study tracked New Yorkers’ eating habits specifically. However, New York City’s Board of Health has taken this initiative one step further, creating a categorical food fight as a result.

According to the city government, the average adult in New York City consumes almost 40 percent more sodium than he or she should each day.

The new rule has already spurred restaurants to lower the sodium in their offerings. The study confirms “that those who purchase food in fast-food restaurants with calorie postings are more likely to report seeing and using the calorie information to order food with fewer calories”.

The National Restaurant Association plants to repeat what they did along with many others back in 2012. Longer-term results are still unknown and many, myself included; hope these measures will eventually have an impact on consumer habits effecting the publics health.