NEW YORK — New York City’s crackdown on big, sugary sodas is staying on ice.

A mid-level state appeals court ruled Tuesday that the city’s Board of Health exceeded its legal authority when it voted last year to put a 16-ounce size limit on high-calorie soft drinks served in restaurants, theaters, stadiums, sidewalk food carts and many other places.

Additional Photos

A woman enjoys a large soda. An New York appeals court ruled that soft drinks are not a health hazard. The Associated Press

In a unanimous opinion, a four-judge panel of the state Supreme Court Appellate Division said that while the board has the power to ban “inherently harmful” foodstuffs from being served to the public, sweetened beverages don’t fall into that category. Soda consumption is not necessarily harmful when done in moderation, the court wrote, and therefore “cannot be classified as a health hazard per se.”

The panel didn’t address whether the size limit would have infringed on personal liberties, but said that in adopting it, the health board improperly assumed broad lawmaking powers given only to legislative bodies, like the City Council.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the driving force behind the regulation, promised a quick appeal.

“Today’s decision is a temporary setback, and we plan to appeal this decision as we continue the fight against the obesity epidemic,” he said in a statement.

The American Beverage Association, which had been among the groups challenging the rule, applauded the ruling, which was the second to find that the Board of Health had overstepped its authority. A similar lower court ruling in March kept the regulation from taking effect.

New York’s effort to cap soda portions has drawn praise from health experts lauding it as a groundbreaking step in America’s war on extra weight. I has also received ridicule from late-night TV hosts ribbing the mayor as a nutrition nanny.

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