So, New York City’s Mayor, Bill de Blasio, has taken action. It also requires the restaurants to post a sign warning diners that too much sodium can cause health problems.
Advertisement
According to Mary Bassett, New York’s heath commissioner, this measure can help the public be aware of the salt content of the food they usually order. Officials say those chains do about one-third of the city’s restaurant business.
In fact, surprisingly, they’re among the six most popular foods that add unexpectedly high levels of sodium to our diet, according to the American Heart Association. New York City officials, however, said that fines would be imposed starting March 2016.
It’s the start of a new nutritional era for New York City.
Still, when the labeling rules were still a proposal in July, some restaurant groups criticized the idea, especially because it would require money and effort for restaurants to redo their menus. Restaurants will also be required to warn consumers that eating a lot of salt can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. It does not limit how much sodium can be contented in food and it won’t penalize restaurants that serve food with more than the recommended daily amount. The African-American and Hispanic communities of New York City suffer disproportionately from the preventable heart diseases and strokes associated with excess sodium in the diet.
The New York City Department of Health proposed in early June that chain restaurants with 15 or more locations add a symbol next to menu items that contain more than 2,300 mg of salt, the recommended daily limit.
At Applebee’s, several menu items exceed the maximum daily recommended sodium intake, including the chicken quesadilla (2,800 mg), the cedar grilled lemon chicken (2,480 mg), the American BLT (2,610 mg) and the salsa verde pulled pork nachos (4,890 mg). She’s due to discuss it further at a news conference on Monday.
The new salt warnings will need to be placed next to around 10% of menu items at restaurant chains with 15 or more outlets in the United States.
This is not the first time the biggest city of the country applies a similar public health initiative.
A study carried out by researchers at New York University School of Medicine suggested that calorie labelling at fast-food chains did not impact dishes selected between 2008 and 2014.
Advertisement
Still, the study’s senior investigator, Brian Elbel, an associate professor of population health and health policy, said there is reason to believe sodium labeling will have a different result.
