The way meals are prepared in New York State could be facing a salt ban if a proposal from the New York State Assembly turns into reality.

Brooklyn democrat Felix Ortiz proposed on March 5^th, known as Bill A101029, that salt should be banned in food preparation within every restaurant in the State.  The Bill also includes a set fine of $1,000 for every single violation.  The food preparation was also defined as food consumed on either the premises or intent of consumption off the premises.

The proposal was brought forward by Ortiz as to help control the amount of sodium being consumed by people on a daily basis.  The proposal is largely based on studies that have shown that lowering your sodium intake could decrease cases of heart diseases, heart attacks and strokes.

While the proposal seems to have the well being of New York residents as its priority, it has also faced a large wave of criticism.  A campaign of My Food, My Choice is petitioning online to fight Bill A101029.  The campaign is sharing their message of leaving food and health decisions to the individual.

Several chefs have also brought forward their opinion, stating that restricting the use of salt in food preparation is not going to solve the health crisis facing much of the country.

The introduced Bill follows a similar initiative introduced by the New York City Health Department two months ago dubbed the “National Salt Reduction Initiative.”  While the program is set as completely voluntary, the objective is to cut the salt used by 20% in restaurants by 2015.  The “salty” debate is expected to continue until a resolution come to light.

Category: -

6 Responses to “New York chefs protest over proposed salt ban”

1. uberVU - social comments says:

   March 14, 2010 at 11:30 am

   Social comments and analytics for this post…

   This post was mentioned on Twitter by jdawgc: New York this is the most retarded thing I’ve heard New York chefs protest over proposed salt ban http://bit.ly/bWnWwe Demolition Man, much?…
2. Concetta Coyne says:

   March 14, 2010 at 12:38 pm

   REP. FELIX ORTIZ SHOULD MONITOR HIS OWN SALT INTAKE AND THAT OF HIS FAMILY AND STAY OUT OF OUR LIVES AND OUR FREEDOM OF CHOICE. THIS IS JUST ONE MORE EXAMPLE OF OBAMA’S MARXIST INTRUSION ON OUR LIVES. WE ARE BIG BOYS AND GIRLS AND CAN TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR DIETS, HEALTH AND LIVES. BUTT OUT AND MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS YOU ARROGANT PROGRESSIVE!!
3. Michael says:

   March 14, 2010 at 3:28 pm

   I am happy to see the opportunity for Chefs to lower the amount of sodium in foods they prepare, but it is up to individuals to make the final decision. It is a fact that restaurants, via their Chefs, use waaaay toooo much salt in their food (understatement), but to ban salt beyond what is in the canned (yes, they use canned products too much) foods utilized and other foods for preparation should not be regulated by law. Folks, restaurants are a great way of over doing sodium (salt) and increasing your blood pressure, but we must get to the restaurant owners and Chefs via other means than by restrictive laws. There are natural foods/health restaurants to visit that use low sodium products and restrict their use of salt. We can also have restaurants list a nutrition label as well. But, the easiest way to keep an eye on what you eat is to eat AT HOME where you know exactly what goes into your meal!
4. DanT says:

   March 15, 2010 at 1:02 am

   What’s the matter, the “War on Drugs” doesn’t provide enough opportunity for publicity? What we need is a “War on Idiots”; but wait, if successful that would deprive us of 98% of our politicians. Not so bad an idea after all!
5. Stupid is as New York's Assembly does. | Smart National Committee says:

   March 15, 2010 at 7:11 am

   [...] Click here for more [...]
6. Impromptu Q&A: NY Salt Ban « Preventionrd's Blog says:

   March 16, 2010 at 2:34 am

   [...] in the state of New York and violations to be ticketed a $1,000 fine for a single violation. The bill reads, “No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the [...]