Since December 1, 2015, a small white salt shaker on a black background has appeared on the menus of restaurant chains in New York City. This logo is placed in front of dishes that contain a high salt level : it must obligatorily indicate any menu containing more than 2.3 grams of sodium (ie more than 5.7 grams of salt).
This decision which was adopted unanimously on September 9 last by the New York Health Council, requires the display of this logo in all restaurants belonging to a chain with at least 15 establishments in the United States as well as in restaurants installed in movie chains. And any violator will have to pay a fine of 200 dollars.
This public health approach is the first taken by the current mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio. His predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, had targeted sodas and the trans fatty acids. This responds to a request from the World Health Organization (WHO) which recommends a maximum daily consumption of less than 2 mg of sodium (5 g of salt, or one teaspoon) to guard against cardiovascular disease. The American Cardiology Federation goes even further by recommending not to consume more than 1.5 grams. However, the daily consumption of Americans would be 3.4 mg of sodium per day.
Note that according to a study published in the medical journal New England Journal of Medicine, salt is believed to be responsible for 1.65 million annual deaths worldwide.
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