New York City mulls high-sodium warnings on menus
NEW YORK -- The city that banned transfats in 2006, and required calories to be posted in chain restaurants in 2010, is now taking aim at salt.
The New York City Health Department said it will consider requiring chain restaurants to alert customers to menu items that are high in salt. The proposed warning would apply to restaurants with more than 15 locations nationwide.
It would show a salt shaker next to any menu item with more than the U.S. daily recommended limit of 2,300 milligrams of sodium -- about a teaspoon of salt -- with a message stating: "High sodium intake can increase blood pressure and risk of heart disease and stroke."
The Health Department estimates about ten percent of dishes would warrant a salt shaker. Examples include: Burger King's Ultimate Breakfast Platter with 3,020 milligrams of sodium; Quiznos' large Mesquite Chicken Sub with 3,260 milligrams; and Chili's large Beef Nachos with over 4,000 milligrams.
"A lot of people think that the way to cut the salt in their diet is to take the salt shaker off the table but we know that most of the salt in our diet comes in the form of processed or prepared food," said New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Travis Bassett.
Ninety percent of Americans eat more than the recommended limit. A quarter of the salt in our diet is from restaurant food, where it's hard to know the exact salt content. Dr. Bassett says there are some places where a turkey sandwich's sodium content can fluctuate from 900 milligrams to 3,000 milligrams.
On average, adults consume about 50 percent more salt than the federal guidelines suggest. Unlike the ban on transfats, the current proposal would just create a warning label -- purely informational -- and leave the decision about whether to splurge on salt to the customer.