New York is back on its soapbox. The city at the forefront of trans-fat bans and calorie counts at restaurants is now taking aim at sodium.
In September, the New York City Board of Health unanimously approved a measure requiring restaurants with 15 U.S. establishments or more to place a warning symbol—a saltshaker enclosed in a black triangle—next to menu items that contain more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium (the daily limit many nutritionists recommend).
Excess sodium intake has been linked to high blood pressure and increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, and the board of health hopes the label “will empower [consumers] to make well-informed decisions … in the food retail environment.”
But, “when people go out to restaurants, health is not really on the forefront of their mind,” says Darren Seifer, food and beverage industry analyst for The NPD Group. “When New York City first started requiring calories on the label, there didn’t seem to be much of a noticeable difference in what was ordered at restaurants.”
The question that lingers is what the New York measure will influence more: consumer habits, or regulations outside the city?
Diminishing Concern?
When surveying consumers on their sodium intake, The NPD Group, Port Washington, N.Y., found that more than 60% of the population is still trying to cut down on or avoid sodium completely in their diets, but the percentage interested in doing so declined from 68% in 2010 to 64% in 2013.
This diminishing concern, which NPD predicts will continue, is due to a population shift. Millennials, Seifer says, are making up a larger portion of the population, and they “tend to not worry so much about sodium because they really haven’t faced all these health ailments yet.” Plus, he says, “The No. 1 thing that consumers say they try to cut down on or avoid in their diet [now] is sugar.”
The New York measure comes in the midst of preparations to meet the FDA’s new federal labeling regulations, set to take effect Dec. 1, 2016. Under the regulations, covered establishments must list calorie information on menus and menu boards and make available in writing—and upon request—other nutritional information, including sodium.
While c-stores have fought the menu-labeling law, part of the restaurant industry’s acceptance of the federal regulations was its promise to do away with the patchwork system of state and local laws. This is “a more thorough and effective way” of providing nutritional information to consumers, says Melissa Fleischut, president and CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association, Albany, N.Y. “[It’s] a way for all the companies impacted to be able to provide uniform information across the country.”
The federal labeling guidelines have been regarded as a byproduct of New York City’s 2008 mandate on calorie counts, which initially caused concern in the restaurant space.
“There was a lot of confusion at first about how to implement it, and I know that we are getting some of the same questions on sodium,” Fleischut says.
Top concerns with the sodium-warning label include time given to comply (the mandate goes into effect Dec. 1, 2015), the cost of maintaining menus and menu boards, and how to label a food item that could have a range of sodium depending on how it is prepared or ordered.
Although the Department of Health says there will be a grace period for implementation, Fleischut says “it can’t just happen overnight.”
Other Cities on Board?
Because New York City has a history of setting public-health policy trends, it wouldn’t be surprising if sodium-warning labels catch on in other cities or even nationwide.
There’s evidence that government action “to raise consumer awareness about sodium or mandates to reduce sodium content in processed foods do work to improve national health statistics, with the prime example being Finland,” says Rita Negrete, senior editor for Chicago-based research firm Technomic.
Finland has seen sodium content decrease by 20% to 25% in food products since the late 1990s, when it began to require “high-salt” warning labels on high-sodium foods, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Washington, D.C. (See sidebar below.)
Support from a large restaurant chain is also likely to fuel the fire. St. Louis-based Panera Bread, which reports having 1,926 bakery-cafés in 46 states as of June, says laws such as the sodium mandate are aligned with its goals.
“We have long been advocates of menu transparency,” says Ron Shaich, founder, chairman and CEO. “We are constantly
evaluating our menu and digital properties with an eye to providing consumers the information they need to make smart personal choices about their wellness.”
Sodium-Reduction Efforts Around the Globe
Several other countries, including Australia, Belgium and Finland, have enacted both mandatory and voluntary programs to reduce sodium content in key food categories.
Australia: In 2009, the government established the Food and Health Dialogue, a voluntary program that created 20 sodium-reduction targets in nine food categories. To date, more than 35 companies have agreed to voluntary reductions, including the Australian subsidiaries of Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Mars and Nestlé. A 2014 study found that from 2010 to 2013, the average sodium level in bread products was reduced by 9%, breakfast cereals by 25% and cured meats by 8%.
Belgium: In 2009, the Federal Public Health Service set voluntary reduction benchmarks for 13 food categories with the goal of reducing salt intake by 10% by 2012. According to a September 2013 announcement, the plan has resulted in salt reductions in meat products (16% to 36%), bread (22%), dehydrated soups (17%) and cheese (7.5% to 20%).
Finland: In 1979, Finland launched its fi rst salt-reduction campaign as part of a comprehensive strategy to lower the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Since the late 1990s, Finland has required “high-salt” warning labels to be displayed on high-sodium foods, such as bread, sausages and cheese. To avoid the high-salt warning label, companies reformulated products, and as a result the average sodium content in food products has decreased by 20% to 25%. In 2009, the threshold for qualifying as a high-sodium product was further lowered to spur an additional 5% to 15% reduction through voluntary efforts.
Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest
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