Heroic NY legislator seeks to ban dangerous chemicals from restaurant

JasonF · 03-11-10, 09:50 AM

There is apparently a particular compound which chefs in New York (and elsewhere) have been using in their food preparation. The chemical has been proven to lead to increased rates of heart attacks and other adverse health effects. Even worse, the compound is made of two component parts -- one of which has been used as a chemical weapon and the other of which is highly reactive to the point where it can explode on contact with water!

Thankfully, New York state legislator Felix Ortiz is on the case

Quote:

Chefs Call Proposed New York Salt Ban 'Absurd'
Updated: Thursday, 11 Mar 2010, 8:01 AM EST
Published : Wednesday, 10 Mar 2010, 7:36 PM EST

By ARUN KRISTIAN DAS / MyFox New York

MYFOXNY.COM - 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.

Ortiz has said the salt ban would allow restaurant patrons to decide how salty they want their meals to be.

"In this way, consumers have more control over the amount of sodium they intake, and are given the option to exercise healthier diets and healthier lifestyles," Ortiz said, according to a Nation's Restaurant News report.

But many chefs and restaurant owners said they are tired of politicians dictating what they can serve and what people can eat. They have opposed the city's anti-sodium and anti-transfat campaigns.

"Chefs would be handcuffed in their food preparation, and many are already in open rebellion over this legislation," said Orit Sklar, of My Food My Choice. "Ortiz and fellow anti-salt zealot Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City seek to undermine the food and restaurant business in the entire state."

The American Heart Association encourages Americans to reduce their sodium intake and has advocated the reduction of sodium used by food manufacturers and restaurants by 50 percent over a 10-year period.

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/loca...d-20100310-akd

Kidding aside, this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

First, salt is in everything. You can't have any kind of baked good without salt. Pasta is out, too. Salt is used in the preparation of most meats. Raw vegetables may be the only option.

Second, salt is necessary to health. Our problem isn't that we get salt in our diet. We need salt in our diet. Our problem is that (some of us) get too much salt in our diet.

Third, there's probably more salt in most prepared foods (frozen and canned foods) than in anything you'd buy at most restaurants. If you're really trying to reduce salt consumption, start there.

Fourth, throughout my post, I've been refering to NaCl as salt. That's the way most people use the term salt, but technically speaking, salts are an entire class of ionic compounds. It's fine to be imprecise in a post to a message board, but if your statute bans "salt," you've arguably just banned a whole bunch of stuff besides NaCl.

Fifth, if Assemblyman Ortiz really wants to keep us safe, he should concentrate on the real menace -- dihydrogen monoxide!

Thor Simpson · 03-11-10, 09:54 AM

The Prequel: http://forum.dvdtalk.com/politics-wo...7894-salt.html

wendersfan · 03-11-10, 10:12 AM

I love the reference of Mayor Bloomberg as an 'anti-salt zealot.'

kvrdave · 03-11-10, 10:41 AM

Do it for the children

NORML54601 · 03-11-10, 10:49 AM

With Salt:

Without salt:

Ky-Fi · 03-11-10, 11:05 AM

Hey, salt is an important ingredient in lots of non-Western cuisines. I say this proposed law is nothing more than a xenophobic, racist, genocidal, intolerant HATE CRIME!!

RoyalTea · 03-11-10, 11:17 AM

For the people that oppose this bill ... if they changed it from a $1000 fine to a 18% tax, would that be enough to change your mind?

Red Dog · 03-11-10, 05:17 PM

Hopefully, Felix is paid a visit by:

crazyronin · 03-11-10, 05:41 PM

And I was so hoping somebody was finally taking serious the threat that is dihydrogen monoxide.

The children. Someone must think of them!

Breakfast with Girls · 03-11-10, 08:53 PM

But seriously, if this passes I think we need to write off New York.

al_bundy · 03-11-10, 08:58 PM

first the trans-fats now the salt. where will it end?

Trevor · 03-12-10, 07:29 AM

Good one Red Dog!

OldDude · 03-12-10, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoyalTea

For the people that oppose this bill ... if they changed it from a $1000 fine to a 18% tax, would that be enough to change your mind?

How about disclosure as an alternative, maybe not precise data, but bands of salt content.

Seriously, humans need salt, but shouldn't overdose. Visitors staying in hotels and eatting in restaurants for a few days will turn into the creature in Red Dog's post. How can you ban something that has an RDA?

People die from overconsumption of dihydrogen monoxide. Shouldn't that be banned too?

Cheato · 03-12-10, 08:28 AM

This is just a very small step in the right direction. What we really need is an official government-approved cookbook with all authorized dishes' recipes spelled out to the letter, and all restaurants must use them to prepare all meals. Then, all meals will come from the food distributors in boxes with the ingredients pre-measured and pre-packaged (in 100% recycled and recyclable materials, of course) to avoid any kind of mistakes in measurement. And the recipes and ingredients will all be prepared by the National Association of Wheat Growers. Oh, sorry, I meant the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

classicman2 · 03-12-10, 09:00 AM

What percentage of the American people are salt sensitive?

Sean O'Hara · 03-12-10, 09:36 AM

He can have my pepperoni pizza when he pries it from my cold, dead hands.

spainlinx0 · 03-12-10, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheato

This is just a very small step in the right direction. What we really need is an official government-approved cookbook with all authorized dishes' recipes spelled out to the letter, and all restaurants must use them to prepare all meals. Then, all meals will come from the food distributors in boxes with the ingredients pre-measured and pre-packaged (in 100% recycled and recyclable materials, of course) to avoid any kind of mistakes in measurement. And the recipes and ingredients will all be prepared by the National Association of Wheat Growers. Oh, sorry, I meant the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Food cubes!

Bandoman · 03-12-10, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonF

Fifth, if Assemblyman Ortiz really wants to keep us safe, he should concentrate on the real menace -- dihydrogen monoxide!

I've been shouting this from the rooftops for years. Do you know how many people - many of them children - are killed by dihydrogen monoxide each year? Hundreds! Yet we do nothing to ban this menace.

al_bundy · 03-12-10, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheato

This is just a very small step in the right direction. What we really need is an official government-approved cookbook with all authorized dishes' recipes spelled out to the letter, and all restaurants must use them to prepare all meals. Then, all meals will come from the food distributors in boxes with the ingredients pre-measured and pre-packaged (in 100% recycled and recyclable materials, of course) to avoid any kind of mistakes in measurement. And the recipes and ingredients will all be prepared by the National Association of Wheat Growers. Oh, sorry, I meant the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

will you be allowed to eat more than one portion at a time? for some reason i eat more than anyone i know

Superboy · 03-12-10, 06:34 PM

Wow, it's unbelievable how ignorant people are regarding how much "salt" is in their food.

A lot of the salt in food is to create chemical reaction necessary for cooking, not because it needs to be seasoned.

03-11-10, 09:54 AM	#2
Thor Simpson DVD Talk Hero Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 35,019	Re: Heroic NY legislator seeks to ban dangerous chemicals from restaurant The Prequel: http://forum.dvdtalk.com/politics-wo...7894-salt.html __________________ I'm not a fan of people quoting others and saying "This," but... This. - VinVega

03-11-10, 10:12 AM	#3
wendersfan Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Where homophobes don't get slut sauce Posts: 28,260	Re: Heroic NY legislator seeks to ban dangerous chemicals from restaurant I love the reference of Mayor Bloomberg as an 'anti-salt zealot.' __________________ "Fifth Element may be as dumb and artless as Johnny Mnemonic, but since a frenchman made it it must be ART!" -Pants "...I think it's a low blow to draw attention to wendersfan's drunken state. " - dork "Just because their victims are still alive doesn't mean they didn't commit murder." - grundle "You concentrate on the sad wanna be hooliganism and let us worry about the actual soccer." - rocketsauce (final score: Columbus 2-Chicago 1)

03-11-10, 10:41 AM	#4
kvrdave DVD Talk God Join Date: Aug 1999 Location: Pacific NW Posts: 79,143	Re: Heroic NY legislator seeks to ban dangerous chemicals from restaurant Do it for the children __________________ Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. - C.S. Lewis

03-11-10, 10:49 AM	#5
NORML54601 DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: La Crosse, WI Posts: 14,956	Re: Heroic NY legislator seeks to ban dangerous chemicals from restaurant With Salt: Without salt: __________________ I'm not addicted to cocaine, I just like the smell of it - Richard Pryor I'm a creationist, I believe man created God. - Seen on a bumper sticker

03-11-10, 11:05 AM	#6
Ky-Fi DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Cape Ann, Massachusetts Posts: 6,724	Re: Heroic NY legislator seeks to ban dangerous chemicals from restaurant Hey, salt is an important ingredient in lots of non-Western cuisines. I say this proposed law is nothing more than a xenophobic, racist, genocidal, intolerant HATE CRIME!! __________________ "You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war." Winston Churchill, commenting on Chamberlain's signing of the Munich Agreement with Hitler."When all that says 'it is good' has been debunked, what says 'I want' remains."--CS Lewis. Atlantica Vox

03-11-10, 11:17 AM	#7
RoyalTea DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: frass canyon Posts: 10,325	Re: Heroic NY legislator seeks to ban dangerous chemicals from restaurant For the people that oppose this bill ... if they changed it from a $1000 fine to a 18% tax, would that be enough to change your mind? __________________ A paternalistic attitude that refuses to consider all citizens as responsible is anathema to the democratic ethos.

03-11-10, 05:17 PM	#8
Red Dog DVD Talk God Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Directionally Challenged (for DirecTV) Posts: 104,488	Re: Heroic NY legislator seeks to ban dangerous chemicals from restaurant Hopefully, Felix is paid a visit by: __________________ "A question for you. Would you rather Bucknell make the NCAA's once every 20 years or so and get ass raped by teams like Kansas in the first round or have them drop down a rung to a confernce where they can compete for a title?" - Josh Hinkle 1st Round Final Scores: Bucknell 64 Kansas 63 \| Bucknell 59 Arkansas 55

03-11-10, 08:53 PM	#10
Breakfast with Girls DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Seattle Posts: 16,004	Re: Heroic NY legislator seeks to ban dangerous chemicals from restaurant But seriously, if this passes I think we need to write off New York. __________________ "Thus spoke BWG." - Groucho

03-11-10, 08:58 PM	#11
al_bundy DVD Talk Hero Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: in da cloud Posts: 26,196	Re: Heroic NY legislator seeks to ban dangerous chemicals from restaurant first the trans-fats now the salt. where will it end?

03-12-10, 07:29 AM	#12
Trevor DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: somewhere shopping Posts: 21,742	Re: Heroic NY legislator seeks to ban dangerous chemicals from restaurant Good one Red Dog! __________________ forum helps: search - reviews - Challenge Compendium - DVD "upgrades" missing features from original release - DVDTalk Facebook - OCD/Storage/Organization - BD Digibook Thread - Free Daily Android App - All Gift Card Deals Personal: PMs are the anitchrist, just email me. Holiday'12 - Comedy '12 My Countdown Counting down to: The 2nd Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge The 2nd Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge has started!

03-12-10, 08:28 AM	#14
Cheato DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: May 2005 Location: closer than you'd like Posts: 1,672	Re: Heroic NY legislator seeks to ban dangerous chemicals from restaurant This is just a very small step in the right direction. What we really need is an official government-approved cookbook with all authorized dishes' recipes spelled out to the letter, and all restaurants must use them to prepare all meals. Then, all meals will come from the food distributors in boxes with the ingredients pre-measured and pre-packaged (in 100% recycled and recyclable materials, of course) to avoid any kind of mistakes in measurement. And the recipes and ingredients will all be prepared by the National Association of Wheat Growers. Oh, sorry, I meant the U.S. Department of Agriculture. __________________ Hey, I don't tell you how to tell me what to do, so don't tell me how to do what you tell me to do. -Bender Rodriguez Cheato, I am compelled to listen to you on this...I mean after all, you have over 50 Japanese DVD's in your collection! -Dr Mabuse

03-12-10, 09:00 AM	#15
classicman2 DVD Talk God Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 66,868	Re: Heroic NY legislator seeks to ban dangerous chemicals from restaurant What percentage of the American people are salt sensitive?

03-12-10, 09:36 AM	#16
Sean O'Hara DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Gitmo Nation Central Administrative Zone Posts: 8,385	Re: Heroic NY legislator seeks to ban dangerous chemicals from restaurant He can have my pepperoni pizza when he pries it from my cold, dead hands. __________________ My Blog Pulp Electronique Goodreads Profile \| Facebook \| Twitter

03-12-10, 06:34 PM	#20
Superboy Suspended Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: So Cal Posts: 7,073	Re: Heroic NY legislator seeks to ban dangerous chemicals from restaurant Wow, it's unbelievable how ignorant people are regarding how much "salt" is in their food. A lot of the salt in food is to create chemical reaction necessary for cooking, not because it needs to be seasoned.