This week, New York officially becomes the first U.S. city with salt warning on the menu of chain restaurants in efforts to fight stroke and heart disease. Starting Tuesday, diners will see a small salt shaker icon beside certain menu items that is high in sodium.
The black triangle with a white salt shaker symbol will appear beside dishes containing over 2,300 milligrams or .08 ounces of sodium – the daily recommended limit that is equivalent to about a teaspoon of salt.
The new rule from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, approved unanimously by the Board of Health back in September, applies to chain restaurants or those with a minimum of 15 establishments in the country.
Health commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said in September that the high sodium warning label is a step toward easier access to health-related information.
“We’re talking about a leading cause of death here,” she argued at a news conference held on Monday.
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading killer in New York City, causing 17,000 deaths in 2013. “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.
According to a 2010 study, New Yorkers consume an average of over 3,200 mg or 0.11 ounces of sodium every day. The intake is even higher among Hispanics and blacks, said the city health department. These numbers, however, are slightly lower when one considers that Americans in general tend to eat around 3,400 mg a day.
And just how much sodium is found in some favorite American fast food treats? At McDonalds, a hamburger has 490 mg – upgrade that to a double quarter pounder with cheese and that is 1,310 mg of sodium.
At Applebee’s, entrées that exceed the daily recommended limited include the chicken quesadilla, cedar grilled lemon chicken, and salsa verde pulled pork nachos, with a staggering 4,890 mg. At Chipotle, diners gets 2,380 mg for a burrito with chicken, white rice, black beans, tomato salsa, cheese, and guacamole.
Chain restaurants that will violate this rule stand to be slapped with a $200 fine, although it is reported that fines will not be issued until March.
The sodium warning pushed by NYC mayor Bill de Blasio is one among a series of health-related initiatives that started from the time of his predecessor Michael Bloomberg, including required calorie count labels and banning of smoking in public places.
For health advocates, watching one’s sodium intake is hopefully a good step to change people’s behavior for the better.
“Things are not going to work out great if all you do is just not eat salt. But maybe, just maybe, they'll start to watch how much they eat, maybe they will get off the subway a stop earlier and walk,” said Dr. Howard Weintraub of the NYU Langone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease.
More restaurant menu changes are being expected, too, such as by Massachusetts Restaurant Association CEO and president Bob Lutz.
“Many cities and states continue to look at regulating nutritional information for consumers at restaurants, and in Massachusetts we have seen the same trend,” he said, citing frequent talks with Boards of Health across his state.
Photo: Steven Depolo | Flickr
