NY anti-salt bill

Off-topic a bit, as it isnt local, Im assuming this insanity wont possible pass.

http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?defaul ... y=Y&Text=Y

Key section:

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, INCLUDING FOOD PREPARED TO BE CONSUMED ON THE PREMISES OF SUCH RESTAURANT OR OFF OF SUCH PREMISES.

Geez. The Food Police need to curl up and blow away.

I didn't check Snopes yet but this has to be a joke Right? New York is almost as stupid as California and Florida as far as regulations go but.... ? If this passes I wonder how many chefs
will move out of New York?

Maybe it was intended to reduce the amount of salt they use on their highways (they use an awful lot) and it got changed in translation?

New York is almost as stupid as California and Florida

Bingo.

Wow. I guess that does not stop the customer from adding salt?

Seriously? That is just plain ridiculous!

What's next? Sugar? Gluten?

Amusing, but before everyone gets all their "bits" twisted in a knot, let's remember that this is just a bill introduced by an Assemblyperson or two with an agenda. It is not law, nor is it close to being a law, it has not been brought before a committee for a vote, the upper chamber has not voted on it, the Governor hasn't signed it, etc.
Loads of legislation gets introduced every year, in every state, that never gets past the "authorship" stage. Instead of paying attention to what the elected idiots are doing in NY, pay more attention to what your elected idiots are doing in Kentuckiana.
Relax and salt away.
BP

New Jersey's law making runny yolks in eggs illegal is one of the stupidest I've encountered.
I can't imagine the salt bill passing. Actually in NY at the moment I can't imagine anything passing.

I think the legislator is confused. Excess salt is unhealthy, but not any amount of salt. Moderate amounts of salt are totally fine health-wise.

Plus, what would places like this do: http://www.saltnyc.com/ ?

Moderate amounts of salt are necessary for the human body to function. However, I would love to see someone tackle salt amounts in some of the restaurants and pre-packed foods. I was looking forward to going to Pei Wei next time I'm in Knoxville until I looked up the nutritional information. The calories aren't too bad, but nearly every item on the menu contains a full days sodium intake or more...even the vegetarian options had 1200mg or more, many entrees were in the 2000mg range.

An out right ban on salt is just silly, but limiting amounts wouldn't be a bad idea...besides a real chef shouldn't have to depend solely on salt to produce flavor.

I was looking forward to going to Pei Wei next time I'm in Knoxville until I looked up the nutritional information. The calories aren't too bad, but nearly every item on the menu contains a full days sodium intake or more...even the vegetarian options had 1200mg or more, many entrees were in the 2000mg range.

That is great that they provide the nutrition information on their website. That way as an informed consumed you can make to the choice to eat there or not. Wish more places would do this.
BP

Considering my health history, the issue of salt is a bit sticky for me. It is simply BAD for my heart to consume too much of it, much like consuming too much caffeine is.

I don't think it should be the legislature's place to regulate an ingredient such as salt, but it's become increasingly clear that a majority of restaurants use salt in their dishes with careless disregard for health. When one meal encompasses the entire recommended salt amount for a whole day, something is wrong.

Unfortunately we cannot go anywhere, restaurants or grocery stores, and buy anything that's been prepared without subjecting ourselves to obscene amounts of salt.

This begs the question--What WILL it take for restaurants and food processors to substantially decrease the amount of salt/sodium in their products? We can all go buy canned "low sodium" and "no sodium" veggies, but at a higher price. They jack up the price for removing something???

Of course the food industry will counter, "But consumers prefer the food salted."

Every household has a salt shaker. Every restaurant table has a salt shaker. If consumers want salt, they should add it themselves. In my experience, consumers want salt because the food itself is lacking in flavor.

So how do we push the food industry to decrease (not eliminate) sodium content without legislation?

And don't even get me started on the evils of high fructose corn syrup. That stuff is poison and SHOULD be legislated out of existence.

It is my understanding that people build up a "tolerance" to salt, so that we need more and more to achieve the same taste effect. In essence, people who use a fairly high amount regularly, need a high amount to even taste it. That is one of the issues we face when cooking with it. If you use only a small amount, many people won't even be able to taste it. Truly a vicious cycle.

Probably the best thing for gov't to do (to save us from ourselves) is to launch education campaigns on the adverse health effects of excess salt, and perhaps require chains to provide nutritional labeling. (don't they do that already?)

But truly, education is the best bet.....Then it can become a bragging point for responsible restaurants.

The recent research I have seen suggests that if you have certain conditions, watching your salt intake if vitally important. Otherwise, eh, your body flushes it out if you get too much.

Im not a medical researcher so take my post with...well you know.