Salt

News hit the UK today that a New York politician has introduced a bill to ban the use of salt in restaurants in New York city. Chefs would face a $1000 fine for every dish served with salt!

New York Daily News article

This is most definitely the most ridiculous thing I've hear in a long while.

Salt is an integral part of good food, used to enhance the flavour i.e. it helps make food taste good!

There's a lot of scaremongering about salt increasing the chances of heart related illness, which I don't disagree with. However, as with most things, moderation is the key.

The problem lies with pre-packaged food not freshly prepared food. Manufacturers have to add CRAZY amounts of salt to ensure that their stupidly cheap "value" food actually tastes of something having undergone industrial processes which are so far removed from real cooking it's scary.

People need to take responsibility for their own health. I don't want to live in a nanny-state where there's always someone to blame and I'm told what's good for me by the government.