New York chefs and restaurateurs are all up in arms over a new bill proposal, the A10129. NY State Assemblyman Felix Ortiz is asking that a $1000 fine per plate be in place for any restaurant that uses salt as an ingredient in their recipes.
You can't deny that Ortiz has good intentions. His father, who passed away from a heart attack, was a longtime sufferer of high blood pressure which is integrally linked to sodium intake. But really, a complete salt ban? Who made Ortiz the salt czar?
This policymaker is obviously no chef. Not only does salt bring out flavor in food, it is also a natural preservative, which discourages harmful bacteria to grow. The breadth of this ill-thought out plan just makes little sense. Are restaurants essentially banned from making pickles and preserves? What about any sort of baked goods? (Almost all baking requires some use of salt.)
What do you think of this proposal? Do you think it would be healthier for consumers to be able to control their sodium input like this?
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Comments (58)
Because New York has finally solved all their other problems, I'm assuming.
I'd rather ban idiots from running for office.
that's so stupid.
salt makes food taste palatable. it activates the taste buds, and leaving it out would be a stupid idea.
since my dad's heart attack we have switched to potassium salt, which has pretty much the same flavor, but HALF the sodium amounts...but above all, i think new yorkers should get a brain.
okay, i'm all for good health...but salt?
without salt, a lot of things would taste REALLY funky. and salt is such a basic thing, i don't even know if there's any sort of replacement for it.
what the hell. it would be more understandable to try and minimize the salt put in the
dishes rather than trying to ban it altogether. their food is going to taste like crap without salt 'cause it's practically in everything. and just when we all thought the US couldnt get any stupider, they try to do something like this...
Salt is involved in regulating the water
content (fluid balance) of the body, but Over consumption of
salt increases the risk of health problems, including high
blood pressure. people should take responsibility for their own health, if you have a problem with sodium then ask the chef to reduce the amount of salt in your meal, or eat at home where you can use as much or as little salt as you want. what are they going to do about all of the prepackaged foods at the grocery store? all of those are LOADED with salt.
dont even get me started with the culinary repercussions of banning salt.... as stated above all baked goods are made with a small amount of salt, not to mention salt cured meats, anything pickled or brined, meat cooked in a salt crust, even the best chocolates are made with some amount of salt.
whoever came up with this idea is an idiot. im glad i dont live in NY.
you need some salt for the body to function
Oh good grief. A salt BAN? No. Maybe limit the amount that can be added to food.... that would be a decent idea. But not an all out salt ban... no, that's dumb.
Actually...when I read the title, I thought it was a good idea because I thought it entailed removing salt shakers from the table. I don't think everybody puts extra salt on their food. It could be like an optional thing that you can ask for, which would reduce the cost of putting out and maintaining salt shakers for the restaurant as well as curbing the temptation to put extra salt on your already salty food for the consumers.
@Meowmeowkimmaee@xanga - But the restaurant isn't having financial troubles because they are offering salt to all. I'm thinking they would rather spend that insignificant amount on salt, and continue to make it available to clients. If they were having money issues and decided to remove shakers from the table unless requested (or if they thought it was good for any other reason), that's their choice and I would completely support it.
It is, however, entirely unjustified for a politician or any level of government to think that they can or should regulate the seasonings a restaurant chooses to offer their clients.
@TheLuckiestWomanEver@xanga - Ooh yeah that's true. Salt is rather cheap. But it reminded me of the water bottle ban in San Francisco. If you think about it, it's not all that essential (plastic water bottles / salt shakers on every table).
@Meowmeowkimmaee@xanga - I'm not from SF, so I hadn't heard of the water bottle ban. I agree with you that plastic water bottles and shakers of salt are not really a necessity. But I believe it IS a necessity that the government refrain from sticking their noses into any more aspects of our daily life.
@TheLuckiestWomanEver@xanga - True, but I think the plastic water bottle ban was a good idea. It was just a city-wide thing, but since it's such a large city, the ban has a large effect. Something like this is pretty ridiculous though.
There are worse things NY needs to focus on over salt. Please. Not to mention, how in the world is that going to be monitored? Like you said. It's in pretty much all baked goods, and in many pre-packaged foods. Is this ban to not add additional salt??? or just salt period? What a waste of a bill....my god...My grandmother died of diabetes, doesn't mean I think there needs to be a ban on sugar or sweets.
That's ridiculous, since salt is used in everything - even desserts. Besides, some shady company would probably come out with an alternative that causes diseases like cancer (-cough- Splenda).
Bottom line: Don't bring your personal life into politics.
I'm so glad this is more important than equal rights for homosexuals.
Not everyone has blood pressure problems, but if they do, it's up to them to control their own intake. They're responsible for taking care of themselves, and if they can't do that, they honestly expect the state to do it for them?
iodized salt helps ppl become smarter. i think the government ppl need to eat more of them. so no salt, but more MSG??? stupid. broth cubes and all those other seasonings like "old bay" and "adobo", would they be allowed? their main ingredient is salt and spices. STUPID. i dont even wanna waste my breath any more than what iv said.
Seriously? I have a medical condition in which I am required to eat twice the amount of salt as a recommended normal person.
That would suck.hahahaha. he's going to fine the restaurants, when anyone can go to the convenience store and load up on the salty snacks or buy a pretzel from a street vendor. this guy is really missing the point. lmao.
That's crazy. Imagine your breakfast eggs without salt! Or your meat! @__@
Well maybe we should stop using salt on the streets.. but in food.. you must be mad. I would surely be in jail for using it. As would the rest of NY. Assuming they aren't dead from starvation cuz nobody will eat food with no flavor.
food without salt tastes gross. not ok, sir. ny is a mecca for delicious food. do not take that away from us
I think this is a politician who needs to be voted out of office come next election.
I understand the no cooking thing, I don't use salt because there's already plenty in food as is.
correct me if i'm wrong, but doesn't the over consuption of sugar, oil, alcohol, and tobacco cause more health problems and costs our society more money and problems? and eating salt doesn't CAUSE the high blood pressure, it just agrevates the problem, so removing it sloves NOTHING. who is this person? and who let him get the bill on the list anyway? this is a pathetic joke that disgusts me
Patrons should take their health into their own hands and regulate sodium intake. This bill is ridiculous.