Chefs Call Proposed New York Salt Ban 'Absurd'
Bill introduced by state assemblyman would ban the use of salt in New York restaurant cooking.
Some New York City chefs and restaurant owners are taking aim at a bill introduced in the New York Legislature that, if passed, would 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 legislation, which Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, D-Brooklyn, introduced on March 5, would fine restaurants $1,000 for each violation.
"The consumer needs to make their own health choices. Just as doctors and the occasional visit to a hospital can't truly control how a person chooses to maintain their health, neither can chefs nor the occasional visit to a restaurant," said Jeff Nathan, the executive chef and co-owner of Abigael's on Broadway. "Modifying trans fats and sodium intake needs to be home based for optimal health. Regulating restaurants will not solve this health issue."
Nathan is part of the group My Food My Choice, which calls itself a coalition of chefs, restaurant owners, and consumers, called the proposed law "absurd" in a press release issued on its Facebook page.
I can see what the future holds should this ban pass:
... restaurants charging a "corking fee" for customers who bring their own salt
... Chinese restaurants getting shut down by the feds for astronomically high sodium content
... restaurants placing Mrs. Dash shakers on the tables; but for a nice tip, your waiter can sneak you some salt
... restaurants owners who plead with cops "No, really! I thought it was salt substitute!"
... bartenders being forced to forgo salt for margaritas, instead rimming glasses with powdered sugar, rice granules, or talcum powder
... "dirty" cops being busted for removing "evidence" from police lock-up
... politicians a la Elliott Spitzer caught in bed with a hooker and a container of Morton's salt with feds following a trail of sleezy receipts and phone bills
... "blooming onions" being banned from restaurants' appetizer menus due their double deadly wallop of trans fats and salt
... would street vendors be wrestled to the ground and handcuffed for selling those huge, soft, fat-granuled salt-sprinkled pretzels?
... I cringe at picturing what would happen in the snowy winter when sidewalks and streets are treated with salt ... oh, the humanity!
I'm so glad the government is looking out for me. I'm too damn stupid to take care of myself.
This world is getting crazier by the day!!!!
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