The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) is firing back at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene after it recently announced preliminary sodium reduction guidelines for restaurants and food manufacturers.
CCF warns that these new guidelines could cause many of America’s favorite foods to take an unfortunate turn for the bland.
“The New York Department of “Hype” is taking its guidelines and regulations too far in its effort to curb salt intake,” said CCF’s Senior Research Analyst J. Justin Wilson in a statement. “New York City officials continually run interference in people’s lives and the everyday choices they make. According to a University of California study released in October, our bodies naturally regulate our sodium intake, ensuring that sodium levels remain within a certain range at all times. Therefore, New York City’s proposed guidelines could have little to no effect on New Yorkers salt intake.”
According to the New York affiliate for Fox News, the recommendations call for sizable reductions in the sodium content of many products, including a 20% drop in peanut butter and a 40% decline in canned vegetables. The target goals call for a 40% reduction in the amount of salt in breakfast cereals, a 25% reduction for breads and cold cuts and a 30% cut for salad dressing. But the initiative is purely voluntary and no penalties will be brought down on companies that ignore the New York City guidelines. The city’s recommendations are intended to encourage companies to cut salt where it isn’t needed or just give consumers more low-salt options.
Seventeen national health organizations and 25 other city or state health agencies have joined with New York City in the effort, Fox News reported. The National Salt Reduction Initiative, as it is called, aims to reduce the average American’s salt intake by 20% in five years.
The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit coalition supported by restaurants, food companies, and consumers, working together to promote personal responsibility and protect consumer choices.