March 16th, 2010 
TheSaltyChef The way meals are prepared in New York State could be facing a salt ban if a proposal from the New York State Assembly turns into reality.
Brooklyn democrat Felix Ortiz proposed on March 5th, known as Bill A101029, that salt should be banned in food preparation within every restaurant in the State. The Bill also includes a set fine of $1,000 for every single violation. The food preparation was also defined as food consumed on either the premises or intent of consumption off the premises.
The proposal was brought forward by Ortiz as to help control the amount of sodium being consumed by people on a daily basis. The proposal is largely based on studies that have shown that lowering your sodium intake could decrease cases of heart diseases, heart attacks and strokes.
While the proposal seems to have the well being of New York residents as its priority, it has also faced a large wave of criticism. A campaign of My Food, My Choice is petitioning online to fight Bill A101029. The campaign is sharing their message of leaving food and health decisions to the individual.
Several chefs have also brought forward their opinion, stating that restricting the use of salt in food preparation is not going to solve the health crisis facing much of the country.
The introduced Bill follows a similar initiative introduced by the New York City Health Department two months ago dubbed the “National Salt Reduction Initiative.” While the program is set as completely voluntary, the objective is to cut the salt used by 20% in restaurants by 2015. The “salty” debate is expected to continue until a resolution come to light.
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Since when did it become the government’s job to tell me what I should eat? The intentions are well and good, but the long-term effects of such government control are not. I think they should concern themselves more with budget issues and implementing safeguards to protect themselves against such shortfalls in the future and let the people take personal responsibility for their eating habits. But what do I know?
i heard about this a few days ago, and I’m hoping that this won’t ever get passed. I feel like most chefs would just leave NY. How can you cook without salt?! Would adding lots of cheese be a violation? If people don’t want to eat food with salt, they can just cook their own bland food at home.
It is just too much for a politician to instruct a chef or any cook how they should prepare their food. For so many years, salt has been a part of everyday food. Isn’t it just annoying how he treats chefs as if they are stupid not to know that anything too much is bad? That is plain underestimating the knowledge and skills of every cook especially in New York. Maybe it’s time people stop blaming something or someone whenever things go wrong. My granma died at a very old age, she puts salt in her meal all her life. I don’t think salt is the problem.