If a salt shaker is placed on the table without a customer's request, the business owner will be fined: draft

The Ministry of Health has announced a public discussion on a draft law proposing amendments to the Law on Trade and Services and the Code of Administrative Offenses, which states that the presence of a salt shaker on tables in public catering facilities will be prohibited unless requested by the customer.

This information was reported by news outlets following the publication of the legal initiative on a unified platform for legislative projects.

Additionally, an amendment will be made to the Code of Administrative Offenses; Article 158 will be supplemented by a new provision stating that the presence of a salt shaker on the table in public catering establishments without a consumer request will result in a fine of 30,000 drams for the business owner.

The justification for the draft notes that, according to the WHO, the daily intake of dietary salt should not exceed 5 grams (equivalent to less than 2 grams of sodium), whereas in Armenia, the volume of salt consumption exceeds the threshold established by the WHO by double.

According to a study conducted by the WHO STEP methodology in 2016-2017, 35% of the adult population regularly or often adds salt to their meals (40.3% of men and 30.1% of women regularly or often add salt before or during eating), while 71% always add salt when cooking at home. Three out of ten people use food with high amounts of processed salt. Furthermore, 21.5% of the population reported that they use a lot or too much salt or salty condiments.

The reduction of salt intake is recognized by the WHO as one of the most cost-effective interventions aimed at reducing the prevalence of non-communicable diseases.

Reducing the amount of salt in our diet is an important step in lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, stroke, heart failure, and other heart conditions) and chronic kidney disease.

The adoption of amendments to the laws on "Trade and Services" in the Republic of Armenia and the Code of Administrative Offenses regarding non-communicable diseases, combined with measures promoting a healthy lifestyle, will lead to a reduction in the number of individuals who misuse salt and, consequently, a decrease in the incidence of non-communicable diseases.