Bloomberg's soda ban prohibits 2-liter bottles with your pizza and some nightclub mixers

[dballance]

45. This is Total Crap - The Law Prevents CUPs not Pitchers/Carafes Over 16oz.

I found the text of what the law says: 1) Sugary drinks shall not be offered or sold in cups or manufacturer-sealed containers (e.g. bottles, cans) that contain more than 16 fluid ounces.
Link to PDF: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/boh/max_size_sugary_drinks_briefing.pdf

A pitcher or carafe of soda/non-juice mixer is not a CUP. So unless someone provides a link to the alleged brochure (which the Post should have done) or an official statement from the NYC Health Department the Post's story and all this outrage seems to be over nothing when it comes to pitchers/carafes.

Reading the law to include delivery orders seems a little silly. I doubt the people passing the regulations ever gave delivery a thought because it's ridiculous to read the law that way. It will be health inspectors enforcing these laws. I highly doubt the city is going to expand their role to include monitoring whether or not a delivery person delivers a 2 liter soda to a customer with their pizza. So it's going to be hard for an inspector to witness a violation in order to issue a citation for that violation. I doubt the attorneys of most eateries who offer delivery are advising them to stop delivering 2 liter sodas.

As for the journalistic standards of the NY Post? Why do I NOT find it at all surprising the NY Post doesn't have a statement from the city?

All I see in that "news" article is a few people who work in the food service/hospitality industry with their hair on fire over the regulations. I sincerely doubt the mayor's efforts were intended to stop restaurants from serving pitchers of soda to a group of kids or to prevent delivery of a 2 liter soda with a pizza or other delivery food. I also have to note none of this was mentioned or publicized during the run-up to the ban. Why not?

Why didn't the NY Post get a statement from the city clarifying whether or not these people's concerns are founded or are just so much mishigas? They could have asked the city's health department if they read the law the same way as these people have read it and intend to enforce it that way. But conspicuously did not. There isn't even the appearance they attempted to contact the city. No statements about how officials were unavailable for comment or didn't respond before deadline.

Gee, could the Post's lack of effort to get quotes from the city be because they might have gotten an opinion from the health department that says they don't read the law to prevent serving pitchers of soda to groups? Or carafes of mixers to groups in a bar or delivering an unopened 2 liter soda with a food order to someone's residence? That would have really taken the wind out of the sails of the article if that had happened. It would have not allowed for all the ginned up rage over nothing.

I tried to find a link to the brochure the story references but could not and the NY Post, conveniently, didn't provide a link or take time to scan portions of it relevant to their story.

Once again we have a "newspaper" article with quotes only from the people opposed to a measure and none from the actual people who passed the measure or will have to enforce it. Certainly no statements from the city attorney's office or health department attorneys with their interpretation of the law and how it will be enforced. So basically an article completely without any basis in the reality of the law.