NEW YORK (AP) – Large chain restaurants and fast-food eateries in the nation’s most populous city can be fined up to $600 beginning next week for not posting salt warnings on menu items that contain more than the recommended daily dose of sodium, a judge ruled Wednesday.
“Some people love salty food and are just going to eat those salty foods regardless of whether there’s a salt icon next to it,” Supreme Court Justice Eileen Rakower said from the bench. “I believe information is power.”
The ruling dismissed a challenge from the National Restaurant Association brought just days after the first-of-its-kind rule was enacted in December. It is but the latest in a series of healthy eating measures pioneered by New York City public health officials that have been challenged in the courts, including an overturned rule limiting the size of sugary drinks and an upheld requirement that chains post calorie counts on menus.
“This is really good news for the health of New Yorkers,” said Dr. Mary Bassett, the city’s health commissioner. The fines take effect March 1.
Under the rule, restaurant owners must now post distinct triangle icons with salt-shaker images inside on menus next to items that top the recommended daily limit of 2,300 milligrams of sodium, about a teaspoon’s worth.