There is no shortage of pizzerias in New York, which has popularized this Italian preparation as if it were its own. The main claim of some of these places are their wood-fired ovens, which ensure an almost perfect result, reaching the desired cooking for any pizzaiolo.
But coal or wood ovens are highly polluting, as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recalls. According to the agency, the smoke releases fine particles, also called particulate matter or PM2.5, which can affect the respiratory system, and cause burning eyes, runny nose and diseases such as bronchitis.
Now the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has set out to limit those emissions. Prepare new rules that would force restaurants that use this baking method to reduce carbon emissions by up to 75%, according to the New York Post.
“All New Yorkers deserve to breathe healthy air and wood and coal stoves are among the largest contributors of harmful pollutants in neighborhoods with poor air quality,” DEP spokesman Ted Timbers explained in a statement collected by this outlet.
The rule, which local authorities are still working on, would require venues with furnaces installed before May 2016 to purchase emission control devices. As an administration official explained to this medium, this measure would affect just under a hundred restaurants in New York.
One of the problems with these emission control devices is their high cost, denounce New York restaurateurs. It is not only their purchase, but they would also have to pay for their maintenance.
Negotiations are still ongoing, with DEP officials debating whether or not to apply the new rule retroactively. That would exempt a good number of venues in the US capital.
There are opinions for all tastes. Speaking to the New York Post, some owners argue that "if you play with the temperature in the oven, you change the flavor" of the pizza. However, other pizza makers reject that argument, which they call false: "No, it does not affect what happens inside the oven."
