Fact check: Post misleads on ID requirements for whipped cream in New York

The claim: New York residents must show an ID to buy whipped cream but not to vote

Last year, a New York law sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Joseph Addabbo went into effect, making  it illegal to sell whippets – nitrous oxide-filled chargers used as whipping agents – to those younger than 21.

But some social media users are misinterpreting the prohibition.

"Welcome to New York. Please show ID for whipped cream but not for voting," reads a Facebook post shared Aug. 31.

The post generated over 300 shares in less than a week.

Contrary to the post's claim, however, anyone can still purchase a can of whipped cream without an ID, Addabbo's spokesperson told USA TODAY in an email. The law only requires those who purchase whipped cream chargers to show an ID. 

The voting element is also a bit overstated. While voters generally don't have to show ID at the polls in New York, there are rare circumstances where they have to.

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USA TODAY reached out to the users who shared the claim for comment.

Image shows three whipped cream chargers, or whippets.
Image shows three whipped cream chargers, or whippets.

Whipped cream ID requirements not for consumer-use cans

People do not need to show identification or be a certain age to buy a standard consumer whipped cream can from a store in New York, Anthony Giudice, Addabbo's spokesperson, told USA TODAY in an email.

“The law targets the two-inch steel nitrous oxide chargers, which are used in more industrial-type whipped cream dispensers that would (be found) in a restaurant or bakery,” Giudice said. “These chargers can be purchased separately, and if someone wanted to buy them, they would have to show ID.”

Only people 21 and older can purchase these chargers. Anyone selling whippets to someone younger than 21 faces a $250 fine for a first offense and up to $500 for each subsequent violation, according to the legislation.

Confusion over the law recently began spreading throughout the state as convenience stores and grocery chains started posting signs informing customers they had to show proof of age to buy cans of whipped cream. The retailers, though, had been misinterpreting the law.

Addabbo said in a 2021 press release that he introduced the legislation to prevent young people from using the chargers to inhale nitrous oxide and get high. Commonly called laughing gas, nitrous oxide is used as a sedative for dental and medical procedures and promotes short-term euphoric and dissociative effects, as the Democrat and Chronicle reported.

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Disposable whipped cream cans sold in grocery stores typically do not contain these chargers, according to the Associated Press. Instead, they “contain a combination of cream and nitrous oxide that’s expelled under pressure through the bottle’s nozzle.”

The post's claim about not having to show an ID to vote in New York also oversimplifies.

It is true that most registered voters in New York do not need to show an ID at the polls. But there are circumstances in which they might have to.

All New York residents are required to provide identification information, such as a driver’s license number or the last four digits of their social security number, when registering to vote, according to Jennifer Wilson, a spokesperson for the New York State Board of Elections.

When processing a voter's mail-in registration application during the registration period, the Board may find the information provided was incomplete and will send, by mail, a request for additional identification information. If that voter does not respond to the board’s request, they may have to show identification at the polls, according to state law.

Our rating: Partly false

Based on our research, we rate PARTLY FALSE the claim that New York residents must show an ID to buy whipped cream but not to vote. Anyone in New York can purchase a consumer-use whipped cream can without having to show an ID. A new law, however, prohibits people younger than 21 from purchasing whipped cream chargers used in industrial or commercial applications. It is true that an ID is not typically required at voting locations, though there are limited circumstances where a voter might have to provide identification information.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Post misleads on ID requirements for whipped cream