NEW YORK, NY November 20, 2008 —First it was cigarettes. Then trans-fats. Now, Mayor Bloomberg is targeting salt shakers. Well, some of them. Speaking yesterday at a food policy conference presented by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, the mayor said he and Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden are putting together a plan to reduce salt consumption and decrease hypertension and strokes.

BLOOMBERG: For those of you who put salt on your steak or on your salad - I've asked Tom this, because I'm addicted to doing that - it's okay. It turns out that most of the salt is in the packaged food, before you get it.

REPORTER: The city doesn't have authority over packaged foods. Bloomberg gave almost no details in his talk, and the Health Department declined to elaborate.

Last month, the mayor and Frieden met with food industry representatives. They discussed a voluntary initiative to reduce public salt intake by 20 percent over five years.