The Los Angeles Times reports that a lawsuit has been filed by a New Jersey man, supported by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), charging that the restaurant chain Denny’s serves meals that are “dangerously high in sodium” that puts "the restaurant chain's customers at greater risk of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke."
The suit seeks to force Denny’s to both list the sodium content for all of its menu items as well as warn patrons about the health hazards of consuming so much sodium.
One example cited by the Times: “Doctors recommend against eating more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day. Order a Denny's double cheeseburger and you'll consume 3,880 milligrams in one sitting.”
Denny’s has responded to the suit by saying it is "frivolous and without merit,” and that it offers plenty of options for people with specific dietary needs.
The Times says that CSPI only agreed to participate in the lawsuit after talks with Denny’s proved fruitless, and that CSPI also has petitioned the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “to regulate salt as a food additive instead of an ingredient that is ‘generally regarded as safe’.”
The suit seeks to force Denny’s to both list the sodium content for all of its menu items as well as warn patrons about the health hazards of consuming so much sodium.
One example cited by the Times: “Doctors recommend against eating more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day. Order a Denny's double cheeseburger and you'll consume 3,880 milligrams in one sitting.”
Denny’s has responded to the suit by saying it is "frivolous and without merit,” and that it offers plenty of options for people with specific dietary needs.
The Times says that CSPI only agreed to participate in the lawsuit after talks with Denny’s proved fruitless, and that CSPI also has petitioned the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “to regulate salt as a food additive instead of an ingredient that is ‘generally regarded as safe’.”
- KC's View:
- No idea here whether this lawsuit will be successful, but Denny’s ought to be paying closer attention to how these things tend to develop in 2009. Management there can go into denial mode and talk about frivolous lawsuits, but that doesn’t change the fact that these charges will take on a viral nature…and Denny’s will look like it is both 1) unresponsive to current health/nutrition trends and 2) non-transparent in its dealings. And, eventually, they’ll have to list sodium content on their menus.
