New York City proposed placing high-sodium warnings on chain restaurant menus this week in the administration's latest attempt to keep residents healthy.
The city’s health department introduced the proposal that would require these eateries to print salt-shaker symbols next to items that contain more than the
recommended daily sodium intake, USA Today reported.
If the Board of Health moves to consider the proposal, a final vote could occur as early as September, which means the regulation could go into effect as early as December of this year.
The recommended sodium intake is 2,300 milligrams a day, which equals about a teaspoon. On average, however, Americans consume some 3,400 milligrams, according to USA Today. Only one in 10 U.S. citizens limit themselves to the guideline.
New York City Health Commissioner Mary Bassett told the newspaper the proposal is an attempt to fight cardiovascular disease and provide consumers with information needed to make healthy decisions.
“We have the overall goal at the health department that we want to reduce premature mortality,” Bassett said. “This is about giving people information that will enable them to make a choice.”
New York City first required caloric values to be listed on menus in 2008, and a federal regulation that goes into effect later this year mandates that all chain restaurants must update their menus to expose calories counts and other information pertinent to an individual’s health, according to the newspaper.
The proposal would affect bistros with at least 15 locations, some movie theaters, and some concession stands.
Not everyone is eager about the proposal.
“Restaurants in New York City are already heavily regulated at every level,” president of the
New York State Restaurant Association Melissa Fleischut told The New York Times. “The composition of menus may soon have more warning labels than food products.”
Additionally, some claim the proposal is based on “faulty, incorrect government targets.”
“They're too low . . . and if followed, could actually harm people,”
Lori Roman, president of the Salt Institute, told The Associated Press.
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