New York Food Police Strike Again

This time the culprit is, wait for it, salt!

Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, D-Brooklyn, has introduced a bill that would completely ban the use of salt in restaurant cooking.

“No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of any food for consumption by customers of such restaurant, including food prepared to be consumed on the premises of such restaurant or off of such premises,” the bill, A. 10129 , states in part.

The bill proposes a $1,000 fine on restaurants for each violation.

Give me, oh PULEEZ, give me a break here. First of all even the Mayo Clinic doesn’t recommend a completely salt free diet. Salt, after all, is needed by our bodies for essential functions. And second, many dishes simply can’t be prepared correctly or flavorfully without the use of some salt. If this law is enacted say goodbye to pickles, kimchee, sauerkraut and any other pickled dishes; soy sauce, worcestershire sauce and many other condiments; and most importantly FLAVOR!

New York has an incredibly vibrant restaurant industry. This heavy handed attempt to impose unnecessary dietary restrictions on anyone choosing to eat out would have a very dampening effect on the business of many restaurants for no apparent public benefit. I realize it’s not likely to pass but, jeebus, don’t those assembly peeps have anything better to do with their time?

If you think the food police are getting a little too aggressive here’s a website where you can sound off.

Posted by marindenver on 03/11/10 at 02:38 PM • Permalink

Categories: Food • NYC Eats • Messylaneous •

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Stupidest proposed legislation I’ve ever heard of. The priorities of our state legislators are so fucked up. How can he push a salt ban while chefs are free to put cilantro in any dish they damn well please? They’re not even required by law to list it as an ingredient on menus.

Comment by Lawnguylander on 03/11/10 at 03:23 PM

Lawnguy, how many times do we have to tell you. Cilantro=ambrosia. And has many health benefits as well. Way too many to list in this limited space. But I hear that aprodisiac qualities are among them.

Comment by marindenver on 03/11/10 at 03:37 PM

NO SALT, NO PEACE!

Comment by Oblomova on 03/11/10 at 03:39 PM

Oh, for fuck’s sake…

Darling Mr. Gimme has HBP and we studiously avoid high sodium prepared foods - like all the crap you find in a can of anything.

Nobody, anywhere has ever told him NO SALT EVER. I salt fresh food where needed.

Comment by gimmeabreak on 03/11/10 at 03:47 PM

And comment of the day goes to the most anti-cilantro person I’ve ever met in my life.

But, yeah, that bill is absolutely ridiculous and Ortiz is an idiot:

“I think salt should be banned in restaurants. I ask if a dish has salt in it, and if I does, I get something else that doesn’t have salt,” Ortiz tells me, before going on to say that he has eaten, and expects he will continue to eat, among other things, ham, cheese and bread in restaurants, all of which contain salt.

Comment by Kevin K. on 03/11/10 at 03:48 PM

But I hear that aprodisiac qualities are among them.

Like I need to be any hornier. And anyway, you’ve been misinformed. That’s not why people call it “that fucking herb.”

Comment by Lawnguylander on 03/11/10 at 04:01 PM

This sounds vaguely familiar…Star Trek Episode

Dr. McCoy runs into an old flame, a woman named Dr. Nancy Carter, who’s in need of medical supplies on a planet where she and her husband are the only humans. “Nancy,” however, turns out to be a shape-shifting creature that sucks the salt from the bodies of humanoids. Once it’s loose aboard the Enterprise, the “salt vampire” can look like anyone in its pursuit of nourishment.

Is this Ortiz’ way of saving New Yorkers from salt sucking shape-shifters? Or is Ortiz a shape-shifter himself and wants to bogart all of the salt in New York?

Comment by kathequa on 03/11/10 at 04:03 PM

Like my grandmother, Tootsie, used to say, “everything in moderation.”

Like marindenver said, and I paraphrase, most restaurant food would taste like crap—blander than crap—without salt.

I’m all for taxing sugary sodas, and doing away with cilantro (sorry, mar) but fining restaurants for using salt?! Preposterous!

O/T hey @marindenver, have you given up on American Idol? Or just too busy doing people’s taxes? I miss you!

Comment by J. on 03/11/10 at 05:49 PM

J. worked too late the last couple of nights to see it and hubby forgot to record it. But I did review the videos of my faves at the AI website so I’ll pop over and give my very humble opinion.