• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, September 9, 2015

New York City's Board of Health has voted to require chain restaurants to put warnings on menus next to items that exceed the government's current recommended daily sodium limit (for most children and adults) of 2,300 milligrams.

That makes New York the first U.S. city to pass such a regulation. As of Dec. 1, the city will require chains with at least 15 locations nationwide to add a salt shaker symbol next to any food item that exceeds the maximum daily sodium recommendation. 

On average, Americans consume 3,500 milligrams of sodium per day, and 75% of that comes from processed and restaurant foods, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

Many medical experts have long advocated sodium warnings, or stronger measures, citing numerous studies linking high sodium levels to high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. In 2010, the Institute of Medicine recommended that the Food and Drug Administration set gradually decreasing maximum sodium limits for processed foods. The FDA is currently reviewing its sodium guidelines, although it appears that adherence to those would remain voluntary.

Michael F. Jacobson, president of public health advocacy nonprofit the Center for Science in the Public Interest, applauded New York's move on the sodium front, adding that he hopes that it will spur restaurants across the country to voluntarily lower sodium levels, and embolden other public health authorities to require sodium warnings on menus. 

Jacobson pointed out that New York's other nutrition precedents of recent times — requiring chain restaurants to show calorie counts and eliminate artificial trans fats from their foods — have inspired changes at many restaurants around the country. 

Panera Bread came out in support of New York's sodium warning regulation (even though CSPI identified at least one Panera offering as being among restaurant items containing more sodium than the full-day maximum recommendation).

But restaurant groups maintain that adding salt warnings is misguided and unhelpful to consumers, saying overall diet should be the focus, and citing recent studies (disputed by many health authorities) indicating that sodium levels somewhat above 2,300 milligrams per day may actually be optimal for most adults.