Rubbing Salt in the Wound: NYC Assemblyman Proposes Ban on Salt in Restaurants

With rising public interest and awareness in the relationship between food and health, city officials across the country have jumped aboard the grassroots bandwagons with enthusiasm, proposing and then passing laws to eliminate trans-fats from restaurant foods, require restaurants to prominently display calorie and other nutritional information on their menus, grade food establishments on a letter-grade scale, and tax soda/soft drinks sold in stores. The debate that has resulted has been heated, but mostly civil and sparking genuine opinions about the pros and cons of such government involvement in public dietary guidelines and eating choices. Even if one disagrees with the proposed legislation, and whether the laws work or not, at least leaders are making points based on informed research, right?

Apparently not always.

According to recent news reports, NYC Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has proposed a bill to ELIMINATE ALL SALT in all restaurant kitchens. That's right, ALL SALT. The idea apparently being that salt (1) is bad for you, (2) is not essential to the cooking process, (3) is simply a condiment that can be added at the end, (4) is not naturally occurring in food ingredients. Choice is good, but like salt, it is best used in moderation.

That's not a proposal based on sound health or scientific reasoning. That's insanity. You need salt to preserve foods and ward off bacteria. Salt helps give bread flavor and texture. Salt is a natural part of many foods, just as sugar is naturally essential to fruits and many vegetables, too. The notion that salt is somehow unhealthy even in trace amounts is absurd, so much so that I cannot take Assemblyman Ortiz's proposal seriously in any way. This is a good thing because if I even thought his proposed bill had a chance in heck to pass, I'd be feeling panic and outrage instead of stunned sadness as I sit here shaking my head at his folly.

This is a particular shame because it is coming from Assemblyman Felix Ortiz of southwest Brooklyn, of NYC's 51st District which includes Red Hook, Boerum Hill, Sunset Park, Borough Park, South Park Slope and Windsor Terrace. A local political and community leader who, until now, has had a pretty good record on pushing relatively popular health and community-centered issues such as farm-to-school advocacy, funding for eating disorder clinics and domestic violence. This issue, however, is likely going to weaken any prospect he had for higher office.

Fortunately, salt will in all likelihood not get wiped off our plates. Unfortunately, until the bill is officially rejected, talk on blogs, news shows and in pundit-land will continue.

photo credit: Earl53 at Morguefile.com - http://mrg.bz/kNUZB6

LOCAL: State Treasury Launches Public Database Of Government Contracts

(previously published here at www.thebulletin.us)

By: Heather J. Chin, The Bulletin
07/23/2008

In a move that increases the transparency of government goings-on, the state Treasury has created the Pennsylvania Contracts e-Library - a new Web-based database where public users can search and find any government contract. It is the result of revisions signed in February by Governor Ed Rendell to the state open records law - the Right-to-Know Law.

Pennsylvania Treasurer Robin L. Weissmann publicly unveiled the database, available through the Treasury Department's Web site, www.patreasury.org, Tuesday morning at a press conference at the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg, describing the site as the first step toward making Pennsylvania government more open and accessible.

"Since taking office ... I have been committed to making the Commonwealth's financial information and operations more accessible to all Pennsylvanians," said Ms. Weissmann. "We are pleased to offer this new free, online service as part of our commitment to bringing good governance and transparency into all of our day-to-day operations."

The Contracts e-Library was launched in only four months, with Ms. Weissmann saying in a prepared statement that treasury staff held focus groups with users and built the online portal for the database. The e-Library is already up and running, but the additional requirements of the law are not scheduled to take effect until Jan. 1, 2009.

The Treasury Dept. will be responsible for the system's infrastructure and maintenance, but each state government agency is responsible for uploading its information. Agencies are required to provide summaries with every contract for easier access and identification. Every search will also include links to any related contracts, such as amendments and purchase orders, to help public users to track an agency's transactions with a particular vendor.

The revised Right-to-Know law details that all government records, save for many dated before July 1, 2008, are open to the public. For contracts dated prior to that point, public users would have to send a request, labeled under the RTK law, to the Treasury Dept. via email or telephone.

"The passage of the Right-to-Know Law earlier this year was an important step toward boosting the public's trust in government," Mr. Rendell said, adding that "the Pennsylvania Contracts e-Library is the first of many action items from that law that ... will continue to break down the barriers between Pennsylvania citizens and government."


Heather J. Chin can be reached at hchin@thebulletin.us


©The Evening Bulletin 2008