NYC Judge rejects NRA’s attempt to reverse salt warning requirement

The icon will have to be prominently displayed alongside all menu items that contain 2,300 milligrams or more of sodium, which is about a teaspoon of salt.

In a report published by the Bloomberg, “Some people just love salty foods, and they’re going to go ahead and eat those foods regardless of whether they have a salt icon next to them”, Rakower said.

NY is the first city in the country to require chain restaurants to post warning icons next to menu items that contain high levels of sodium.

A little black and white salt shaker will start popping up on menus in New York City after a New York State Supreme Court judge upheld the city rule requiring chain restaurants to warn patrons if they’re eating a meal with excessive amounts of sodium, according to a statement by the New York City Health Department. S. Preston Ricardo, a lawyer for a restaurant group that sued the city to strike down the warnings, said he is strongly considering appealing the decision as early as Wednesday afternoon. “We encourage everyone dining at these establishments to use this easily accessible information when making food choices”.

A judge in NY has declined to issue a preliminary injunction requested by the National Restaurant Association over salt.

The warning was proposed under New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, but the restaurant group likened it to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s failed effort to curb sales of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces.

“The irreparable harm is real”, he said, arguing that there’s controversy among scientists themselves about how much salt is too much.

“This is really good news for the health of New Yorkers”, Dr. Mary Travis Bassett, the city’s health commissioner, said outside the courthouse. Besides chain restaurants, the rule also applies to concession stands at some movie theaters and sports stadiums. The federal government recommends people consume less than 2,300 mg of salt per day.

Fines will begin March 1, said Christopher Miller, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the defendant in the lawsuit. While the trans fat bans and the calorie counts survived similar legal challenges, the state’s highest court blocked the soda measure. Quite a few famous items available in NY restaurants such as an eight-inch BBQ pulled pork sub at Quizno’s, an Italian Combo Sandwich at Panera or a salt bagel at Dunkin Donuts have very high salt content, reported NYSE Post.