NYC Health Department proposes high-sodium warning on menus

New York City’s Health Department wants all chain restaurants to warn customers about products that are high in salt.

The department is proposing at a meeting of the Board of Health on Wednesday that all chain restaurants add a salt-shaker-like symbol on menus next to products that contain more than the
recommended daily limit. That’s 2,300 milligrams of sodium, about 1 teaspoon of salt.

If the city Board of Health votes to consider the proposal, a final vote could come as soon as September and the warnings by December.

Public health advocates hailed the proposal as a pioneering step to tackle a major problem. Salt producers called it off-base, and some restaurateurs said it would needlessly mire already burdened eateries in more bureaucracy.