A new "salt-shaming" law has a restaurant group furious.
The National Restaurant Association is hopping mad at New York City, and they’re ready to sue.
That’s because the Big Apple has just passed a new regulation requiring chain restaurants that have more than 15 locations to add warnings about high-sodium foods on their menus, a “salt-shaming” law that has the industry up in arms, according to an NY Eater report.
The National Restaurant Association, which represents more than 380,000 businesses nationwide, has announced plans to sue the New York City Department of Health over the new regulation.
It’s not the first time the NRA has gone after New York over a new health law, with the NRA and other groups also going after Mayor Bloomberg’s infamous soda ban. That legislation was eventually rejected by the New York State Court of Appeals. A health department spokesman said he expected the courts to uphold this rule in the event of a lawsuit.
Under the new rule, chains will have to put a salt-shaker emblem to warn customers of high-salt items when they exceed 2,300 milligrams of sodium. That’s the recommended daily limit of sodium.
The move comes as part of growing concern about how much salt Americans eat. Salt can raise the risk of high blood pressure as well as heart problems. But powerful restaurant groups don’t appear to be taking the changes sitting down.
Advocates argue that it’s a common sense way to inform customers about what they’re eating instead of mindlessly consuming menu items. Opponents argue that it’s unnecessarily burdensome on the industry.
The average American consumes about 3,400 milligrams of salt every day, and sodium counts for single menu items can be staggering. A New York cheddar and bacon burger at TGI Friday’s, for example, has 4,280 milligrams of sodium.
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