New York Tries to Shake the Salt

Any menu item containing more than 2,300 milligrams (0.08 oz) of sodium, the daily limit many nutritionists recommend and which equals about one teaspoon of salt, must display the emblem of a salt shaker in a black triangle. Store-bought bread – which many of us eat several times a day – is another big offender.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in New York City, claiming almost 17,000 lives in 2013. The rule applies to chains which have more than 15 restaurants.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are among the scientific bodies that have recommended that Americans reduce their daily sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg. As of today, New York City has become the first city nationwide to require chain restaurants to label high-salt content on menus.

Though the restaurants are asked to use the salt warning on Tuesday. This is an important measure not just for her, but for everyone considering that this concerns the number one cause of death in the city. “A well-established connection” is noted by the health department between sodium consumption and high blood pressure, which is a primary risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

“If they want to sell their products in New York City”, Huenning said, “they can either choose to create a whole separate packaging and industry or just change everything they do, and usually they just change everything they do”. These numbers, however, are slightly lower when one considers that Americans in general tend to eat around 3,400 mg a day.

That’s the recommended daily limit for sodium, but most Americans consume far more.

A Chipotle loaded chicken burrito has 2,79g of salt, while Subway’s foot-long spicy Italian sub has 2.98g. The city will collect $200 fines to restaurant that does not show the symbol in their menus from March 1st.

According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, most of the sodium people take in on a regular basis comes from processed foods and at restaurants.

The salt warnings represent the first high-profile public health policy pushed by Mayor Bill de Blasio and follows in the footsteps of his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, who targeted soda, trans fats and smoking, as well as required restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The National Restaurant Association plants to repeat what they did along with many others back in 2012.