Politics on the Hudson

   Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, who has taken a lot of heat in the past few days over his salt-ban legislation,  issued a statistic-laden statement today clarifying what he is seeking to do.

   “My intention for this legislation was to prohibit the use of salt as an additive to meals. If salt is a functional component of the recipe, by all means, it should be included. But, when we have meals prepared by restaurants that pile unnecessary amounts of salt, we have a problem,” he said.

   Ortiz, a Democrat from Brooklyn, said he is concerned consumers might not understand the “absurd” amount of sodium even in one restaurant dish.

   “Think of it this way: You only need 1,500 mg of sodium in a given day. Then look at the sodium in one serving of Chicken Portobello from a popular family chain restaurant. This one dish has 7,300 mg of sodium; over four times the daily need!” he said.

   Many experts believe people should have no more than 1,500 mg per day to prevent or lower high blood pressure, but the amount of sodium used in the food supply makes it difficult to achieve this, Ortiz said. The average amount of sodium Americans consume each day is 3,436 mg.

   Reducing the amount of salt would reduce cases of heart disease, stroke and heart attacks, Ortiz said.

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