The Salt Shake-Up: Brooklyn Assemblyman Proposes Salt Ban

(via)

There’s another four-letter word in New York City: salt. On March 5, several weeks after Mayor Bloomberg announced a “voluntary” salt initiative, Brooklyn Assemblyman Felix Ortiz shook things up when he proposed a law outright banning salt.

Bill A10129 "prohibits the use of salt by restaurants in the preparation of food by restaurants." It also proposes a civil penalty up to $1,000 for each time a restaurant is caught using the forbidden ingredient.

The bill was met with complaints from salt and health enthusiasts alike. NY1’s Curtis Silwa protested by drinking salt on air, while Bloomberg discussed it on his radio show. “I think it’s ridiculous,” said Bloomberg. “You have to use salt when you cook.”

Ortiz defended his bill by taking a more moderate position. “My intention for this legislation was to prohibit the use of salt as an additive for meals,” he said in a statement. “If salt is a functional component of the recipe, by all means, it should be included.”

His statement should be taken with a grain of salt: the bill still states, “No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of any food for consumption by customers of such restaurant.”

Ortiz could not be reached for comment on further actions for the bill.

The bill comes several weeks after Bloomberg’s announcement the New York City Department of Health is taking part in the National Salt Reduction Initiative, or NSRI.

NSRI is composed of 43 cities, states, and national health organizations fighting to decrease salt intake by 20% in five years by developing targets to help companies reduce salt levels in packaged and restaurant food.

It models a program in the U.K. that successfully reduced salt levels by 40% in products. A&P, a supermarket chain that runs as Food Emporium in New York City, and Subway have already agreed to cut salt in their products under the program.

Salt has every reason to be shaken out of New York: 80% of American’s sodium intake comes from salt added to foods before they’re sold, according to the World Health Organization. Americans consume about 4 grams of salt a day, almost twice as much as the recommended 2.3 grams.

High levels of salt in a diet increases blood pressure, which leads to heart attacks and strokes according to the Department of Health.

"I think it's a good idea to lower salt," said Johanna, a frequent Food Emporium customer and New School student. "But banning it? That's kind of ridiculous."