Denny's sued over high-salt food

[Toliver]

The article in the Los Angeles Times:

Denny's is sued over high-salt food

From the article:

Denny's meals "are dangerously high in sodium," according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by a New Jersey man with the support of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit group active in nutrition and food safety issues.

Some eye-popping numbers (the highlight is mine):

Salt-laden selections include the Meat Lover's Scramble, an amalgamation of cheese, eggs, bacon, diced ham and sausage that comes with more meat on the side plus hash browns and pancakes. The meal has 5,690 milligrams of sodium -- the equivalent of nearly three days' advised maximum salt intake. A scrambled eggs and cheddar cheese meal on the Denny's "senior" menu has 2,060 milligrams of sodium.

The current US RDA is no more than 2400 mgs of sodium.

So is Denny's just a scapegoat, meaning aren't all chain restaurants just as bad? Or are their sodium levels truly egregious?

[David A. Goldfarb]

It sounds like their sodium levels are truly egregious, but it's not as if any sane person would order something like the Meat Lover's Scramble with the idea that it was good for their health.

[Reignking]

"Center for Science in the Public Interest" -- could that be more vague?

Ah, it is these idiots again.

I think I just read something else stupid they put out about sodium, and how something had 3 1/2 teaspoons of "salt" in it.

Denny's is a scapegoat. They have an agenda.

(Found it -- this was the other complaint that I was reading about. The meal in question was the Admiral's Feast at Red Lobster.

Edited July 24, 2009 by Reignking (log)

[Mallet]

Holy F**k! 5690 mg of sodium is 14,225 mg of salt! That's like two tablespoons of Diamond Crystal Kosher salt per portion!

!!!! (for emphasis)

[scubadoo97]

Holy F**k! 5690 mg of sodium is 14,225 mg of salt! That's like two tablespoons of Diamond Crystal Kosher salt per portion!

!!!! (for emphasis)

←

You wonder why doesn't it taste like a salt lick?

[maggiethecat]

Yes, the sodium levels are scandalously high, but even the least enlightened diner knows he's getting a shitload of salt at Denny's. And elsewhere.

Denny's is a scapegoat.

[munchymom]

Holy F**k! 5690 mg of sodium is 14,225 mg of salt! That's like two tablespoons of Diamond Crystal Kosher salt per portion!

!!!! (for emphasis)

←

You wonder why doesn't it taste like a salt lick?

←

It probably does. Ever since I started cutting back on salt in my own cooking (high blood pressure), I can hardly eat at fast-food and low-end chains - the dominant flavor is nothing but salt. It makes the food nearly inedible. Even at high-end restaurants, I find myself saying, "This tastes pretty good, but it's too salty." All the same, I'd make the choice to stay out of Denny's rather than sue them. It's not like less salt would make their food taste good.

[v. gautam]

People who go in know they are getting food high in calories and fat. They are not being compelled to enter ANY restaurant, nor are they being asked to eat XYZ. That is the whole point that makes this suit nonsensical. People in this country are both literate and have the choice of numerous alternative food service establishments wherever they turn, making this type of legal nonsense a criminal waste of our precious and overburdened justice system.

I do not know if there are laws for Public Interest Litigation where any citizen may sue such groups on precisely public interest grounds for damaging the common weal, presumably the same grounds upon which they are attacking Denny's. Perhaps the many lawyers on eG can frame a collective countersuit! I am appalled at the NYC legislation barring shortening in fry oil. At most, they coud have required a sign declaring its presence, and let consumers decide. Such legislation will not achieve the desired target of making people healthier but it is a very disurbing precedent when government bodies legislate on what fat private business may use. Now, will they stand over your shoulder with measuring spoons?

White Castle type of hamburger places makes small sized portions, but there is nothing to prevent someone from eating 50 sliders or a whole large pizza or stuff themselves at an all-you can eat buffet. They will ingest a lot not compatible with their dietary needs but it is their choice.

Insurance companies should have a policy that if individuals cannot demonstrate a willingnesss to lose weight or maintain certain guidelines, then certain types of care will be given only at a steep premium or not at all. That is where the Public Interest people should be training their guns on, the selfish consumer who has no conception of public interest. Why should an immature baby [the wilful consumer] dictate the terms on which a business must run? That goes against every principle on which this country was founded: responsibility for oneself and a fair deal for all.

And by the way, people protest at salt, but a 20oz. bottle of cola has about 17.5 TEASPOONS of sugar, about 70 grams. The bottle says 2.5 servings, but really, people hold on to it like babies do with their comforters, until it is emptied over a longer or shorter period, i.e. all 70grams down the hatch, usually every day for those that consume such drinks.

Powerade type drinks and fruit juice coctails are no less packed with sugar or its equivalent in empty calories. We don't see anyone [i.e. these saintly Knights] raising a fuss. Even PURE apple juice may have no added sugar/sucrose/corn syrup but is nevertheless a very damaging product if contains 19-25% natural sugars;ditto grape juice.

[Natural does not mean "good" for a body where it is in excess or inappropriate. These juices, even fresh orange juice, carry such a high sugar load that they are conducive to the glycation of proteins in the body, especially in the eye, to say nothing about rest of the glucose physiology. We are built to process fruit, not juice.]

Edited July 25, 2009 by v. gautam (log)

[David A. Goldfarb]

The NYC trans-fat law is aimed at improving health in poor neighborhoods, where there aren't a lot of healthy options and people aren't necessarily literate or educated about food choices (a much deeper problem that requires a much broader solution), where marketing and peer pressure contribute to young people eating a lot more in fast food chains than they would, if they were making fully rational and free choices.

It is not as if partially hydrogenated oils make the food better in any way. They are used because they are cheaper and last longer in the fryer.