Lawsuit Leaves Denny’s a Little Salty
Did you know that food items at your local Denny’s can contain up to 5,690 milligrams of sodium (more than 2 times the daily recommended amount)? I sure didn’t until I read the article from the LA Times. A man from New Jersey (with an apparent problem with blood pressure) along with help from The Center for Science in the Public interest filed the lawsuit after the man discovered his food contained enough sodium to damage a small animal (not really–just an exaggeration). But seriously, some of the meals at Denny’s contains more than two days worth of recommended sodium! The goal of the lawsuit is to force Denny’s to list the sodium content of their food items along with some type of disclaimer about the risk of high blood pressure. There were also negotiations between Denny’s and the CSPI to lower sodium content in the meals.
Although half of me wants to get behind the lawsuit, the common sense half of me wants to ask why the NJ man didn’t inquire about the nutritional content of the food he was eating. At some point, we all have to take responsibility for what we put into our body. I went to Denny’s Website and found the nutritional info fairly easy and sodium was not the only problem with the meals. There were appetizers on the menu that had up to 125g of fat (yes, I said 125) and other food items with 52g of saturated fat. The double cheeseburger alone has 116g of fat, 52g of saturated fat, and 3880mg of sodium. Unbelievable!?!?!
So, what about the rest of the fast food restaurants? Who is going to challenge Burger Kings Whopper meal which contains 64g of fat, 16g of Saturated fat, 1.5g of Trans fat, and 1850g of sodium? Only you can do that. Knowledge is power and in this case it can save you from heart disease and stroke cause by a poor diet.
I do think that some good will come out of the lawsuit but to call the NJ man “greedy” or “an idiot” (as seen in some message boards) is going too far. Granted he was a long time patron of Denny’s, and should have taken more initiative in what he was eating, restaurants should have full disclosure about their menu items in an easy and accessible manner (other than online) for those that just aren’t aware of these types of issues.
What do you think? Who is more irresponsible, the fast food chains or the people who eat there?
(source: La Times)
Photo Credit: Flickr – mrkathika
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