New York Appeals Court Puts Hold On Salt-Labeling Regulation

A New York appeals court on Monday temporarily stopped the city from enforcing a new rule requiring chain restaurants to post warnings on menu items high in sodium.

The appellate court judge granted an interim stay of enforcement of the law, which was to go into effect March 1. The rule, believed to be the first of its kind in the United States, requires city restaurants with 15 or more locations nationwide to post a salt shaker encased in a black triangle as a warning symbol next to menu items with more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium, the daily limit recommended by the federal government.

The National Restaurant Association had vowed to appeal a February 24 decision by the New York State Supreme Court upholding the regulation, under which violations would have been punishable by $200 fines.