Health News and Scoops

A lawsuit was filed against Denny’s this week by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a nonprofit organization that serves as “a strong advocate for nutrition and health, food safety, alcohol policy, and sound science.” The organization has sued Denny’s for extreme sodium levels found in the food.  Although Denny’s management argues that anyone can simply go to their website to find the nutrition facts about their food, the CSPI wants more.  The lawsuit is calling for Denny’s to display the sodium content right on the menu, along with warnings to the customers about the effects of high sodium.  Unfortunately for the circulatory systems of many frequent Denny’s customers, Denny’s has refused these changes and asks that they be allowed to lower the sodium amounts in the food themselves.  Or in other words, Denny’s wants to take as long as possible to do anything about the situation.

The Center for Disease Control warns adults not to exceed 1,500mg of sodium each day.  To give you an idea of where the CSPI is coming from, on particular Denny’s dish called “Moons Over My Hammy” contains 2,580mg of sodium (item seen in picture on the right).  This item is not one of those extreme “lumberjack” breakfasts that you might have seen before; it is just a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich.  Customers who were interviewed about the Denny’s food, and who were told about the amount of sodium they were eating, unanimously agreed that they would not have ordered those dishes if they had known about the amount of sodium.

Denny’s is not backing down, however, and in response to the CSPI action the chain has relased the following statement:

“Denny’s believes the lawsuit filed by CSPI is frivolous and without merit, and the company will fight it aggressively in court. With hundreds of items on the menu, Denny’s offers a wide variety of choices for consumers with different lifestyles, understanding that many have special dietary needs. In June 2009, the company launched Better for You items, allowing guests to replace favorites with lower-sodium and fat alternatives. Additionally, earlier this month, Denny’s launched a Better for You kids menu. All nutrition information is available online at www.dennys.com.”

This story could go either way.  For one, we should all be educated enough to know that eating at any restaurant chain is not good for your health.  Denny’s does not make any promises to consumers that their dishes are healthy; they just promise that they taste great.  On the other hand, I think that people are going to eat there regardless of sodium content, so they should display the sodium content on their menus if anything to avoid liability.  After someone eats the food, the damage is done.  Consulting the website will not help at that point.  No one is telling Denny’s to get rid of any food options, and I believe that many people will still eat them no matter what, but at least they are keeping their customers informed.  The moral of the story? Eat breakfast at home. Save your money, save your arteries.

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