After the too fatty, the Big Apple begins a crusade against the too salty. Restaurants should mark dishes containing too much sodium with an icon.
White salt shaker on black triangle: an icon that is likely to flourish on the menus of chain restaurants in New York (United States). The American economic heart is embarking on the fight against excess sodium. The city’s health council has just adopted unanimously a binding measure for chains with more than 15 addresses and some cinemas.
Michael Bloomberg has left New York City Hall, but health measures continue. After having campaigned for a reduction in children’s menus, his successor, Bill de Blasio, imposes legislation that harms the too salty. From 1er December 2015, restaurant chains will be required to display a salt shaker icon next to dishes with sodium intake exceeding 2.3 grams – which is above the recommended daily intake. Violators will have to pay a fine of 200 dollars (176 euros).
According to the New York Department of Health, these regulations “should help further improve the general health of New Yorkers.” Indeed, as stated in New York Times, a meal as simple as a turkey club sandwich marketed by Quiznos should be accompanied by a salt shaker: it contains 5.8 mg of sodium … almost triple the recommendations of the World Health Organization (see box)! With this measure, the Big Apple completes its fight against junk food. She has already managed to banish fat trans and giant sodas.
Recommendations on salt intake
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limit to 5 grams daily salt intake, or 2 grams of sodium. Beyond this limit, cardiovascular damage may appear. Yet the majority of the population consumes 9 to 12 grams per day. Member States have committed to reducing the salt intake of the population by 30% by 2025.
France is badly engaged in this process. The 3e National Health Nutrition Program (PNNS), which expires in 2015, has set two goals different for men and women, and they are higher than international recommendations: 8 grams per day for adult men, 6.5 grams per day for women and children.
.
