A tiny salt shaker symbol that warns certain meals are high in sodium will begin appearing on menus on Tuesday (December 1), in chain restaurants in New York City, the first U.S. city to take the step in an effort to combat heart disease and stroke.
Any menu item containing more than 2,300 milligrams (0.08 oz) of sodium, the daily limit many nutritionists recommend, which equals about one teaspoon of salt, must display the emblem of a salt shaker in a black triangle.
The measure, which was unanimously approved by the New York City Board of Health in September, applies only to restaurants with at least 15 establishments across the U.S. and concession stands at some movie theaters and sports stadiums.
“I think it’s a very good thing,” Dr. Howard Weintraub, co-director of the NYU Langone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, said on Monday (November 30).
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in New York City, claiming nearly 17,000 lives in 2013, the health department said. It noted a “well-established connection” between sodium intake and high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke.
Weinstaub explained: “Elevated blood pressure and the sodium work alone and together to create vascular damage. This vascular damage allows the body to then start creating plaque. Plaque is the stuff when ultimately it gets bigger and bigger can occlude an artery causing either an heart attack or a stroke.”
The new menu labels may be an eye opener for customers who flock to chains such as Chipotle and Subway, which are perceived to be more healthy.
Until Tuesday, they may have been blissfully unaware of the sodium content of a Chipotle loaded chicken burrito (2,790 mg), Subway’s foot-long spicy Italian sub (2,980 mg), TGI Friday’s classic Buffalo Wings (3,030 mg) or Applebee’s grilled shrimp and spinach salad (2,990 mg).
A 2010 study found New Yorkers consume more than 3,200 mg of sodium each day on average, with higher intake among blacks and Hispanics, the health department said.
Getting New Yorkers to start watching their sodium intake is a first step that health advocates hope will prompt other behavioral changes.
“People who will definitely listen, they have already listened, and they are eating vegan. And there are people who will never listen, and they eat one meal a day at a fast food restaurant. And there are people in the middle who are influenceable. Those are the people you are going after and you hope you can make some kind of a dent, Weintraub said.
New Yorkers Reuters interviewed on the street saw it mostly as a positive change.
“My New Year’s resolution is to lose some weight, be a little healthier. So I think it’s good that people know that, hey, there is a little more sodium than your daily recommended value in something that you are eating, especially when you are eating out,” Paul Fichter said.
“I think 99.9 percent of the food chains don’t inform us about what they really use. So if they have to make those restaurants tell us how much salt, that will be good,” said Khadijah McDonald.
When asked if the new campaign is too intrusive, Bill Murray said, “No they are educating the population, it’s good to put it on there, you know. People don’t know.”
The sodium warning label pressed by Mayor Bill de Blasio echoed a series of efforts by his predecessor Michael Bloomberg, including banning smoking in public places and requiring fast food restaurants to post calorie counts.
