New York City restaurants introduce salt warnings on menus

New York City is facing an imminent challenge to a new rule requiring restaurant chains to post warnings on dishes with high amounts of salt, the latest battle in its campaign to improve public health on the fast-food front.

A new law goes into effect Tuesday requiring the city’s restaurants to identify menu items containing more than the recommended daily maximum of sodium, 2,300 milligrams.

“With its sodium mandate, not only is the Board [of Health] inflicting financial burden on restaurants, it is imposing on both restaurant owners and consumers, a view regarding the health effects of sodium intake that is the subject of scrutiny based on recent and evolving scientific research”, the association said in a statement.

“The vast majority of adults in New York City consume more sodium than recommended, and too few understand the link between high sodium intake and hypertension, heart disease and stroke”, said Mary Bassett, health commissioner for New York City.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in New York City, claiming almost 17,000 lives in 2013, the health department said.

The new menu labels may be an eye opener for customers who flock to chains such as Chipotle and Subway, which are perceived to be more healthy. After menus in the city started listing calorie counts, customers eventually became accustomed to seeing them and started ignoring them altogether.

It’s the newest step taken by the country’s biggest city, in a series of novel nutritional moves.

“We’re talking about a leading cause of death here”, she argued at a news conference held on Monday. The New York State Court of Appeals ruled the board “exceeded the scope of its regulatory authority”. His predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, was known for his attempts to limit unhealthy habits of New Yorkers. The items will be marked the symbol of a salt shaker within a black triangle.

“Americans are consuming unsafe levels of sodium, most often found in processed or restaurant food”, said Robin Vitale, senior director of government relations for the A.H.A. “This rule will help to increase transparency”.

Peter Huenning, an associate professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in Manhattan, said other cities will probably impose similar requirements, forcing restaurants to change nationwide.