UPDATE - A Victory Against #SneakySalt

 

Salt likely won't be sneaking around restaurant menus in New York City any more - thanks to a ruling by the State Supreme Court that upheld the city's Sodium Warning Label. This law requires that any food item or meal combination that has a dangerously high level of sodium must have a small 'salt shaker' icon placed next to it.  The motivation behind the law is to empower the consumer to make healthier choices while dining at one of the city's chain restaurants. And it's already working!

Many restaurants started complying with the law as soon as it went into effect back in December.  For those that have seen the updated menus, it is amazing how many food items have too much salt!  Here is one menu from a city restaurant:

  

This should help make restaurant patrons think twice about what to order! 

The science community agrees.  We're all consuming far too much sodium.  Everyone should strive to reduce their consumption by at least 1000mg per day, if not more! Too much sodium is a major public health problem, leading to elevated blood pressure and increased risk for stroke and heart disease.

The American Heart Association is grateful that the power is finally being placed in the hands of the consumer.  We get to more easily make the choice about what we want to eat and how much salt we want to consume!

The fight isn't entirely won yet.  The law is expected to face continued scrutiny in the courts.  But in the meantime, let's celebrate this victory for NYC hearts!

UPDATE - February 29, 2016 - The National Restaurant Association has levied an appeal against the city's law that will momentarily suspend the city's ability to fully enforce the policy. The city must respond in the next couple of weeks and we fully expect the law to be upheld. As the legal debate wages on, please continue to support the restaurants that have already updated their menus.  You can post photos like the one above on social media, using the tags #WatchTheSalt or #SneakySalt to applaud this greater transparency for consumers. 

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