Denny's Sued for Salty Food

(WebMD)  The nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is suing the national restaurant chain Denny's, claiming the restaurant has too much sodium in its food.

In a statement, Denny's calls the lawsuit "frivolous" and says its nutrition information is posted on its web site. The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey in Middlesex County, seeks to make Denny's put on its menus the sodium content of its food and a warning about high sodium levels.

In a news conference, Michael Jacobson, the CSPI's executive director, said that the CSPI had negotiated with Denny's starting in December 2007 and decided to file the lawsuit when those negotiations "fell through."

"They said they'll try to lower sodium but they want to do it at their own schedule, which, unfortunately, could be decades," Jacobson said.

In a news release, the CSPI states that Denny's made "small" sodium cuts several items, but those changes didn't go as far as CSPI wanted and didn't include menu disclosures.

Noting that the CDC recommends most adults get no more than 1,500 milligrams per day of sodium, Jacobson said that certain Denny's dishes contain far more sodium, such as the 2,580 milligrams of sodium in the Moons Over My Hammy ham, egg, and cheese sandwich.

That sandwich is one of the items that lawsuit plaintiff Nick DeBenedetto, a 48-year-old New Jersey man with hypertension (high blood pressure,) said was one of his favorite Denny's meals over the past 20 years.

In the news conference, DeBenedetto said he tried to live a healthy lifestyle and that he was "astonished and shocked" to learn how much sodium was in the Denny's items he typically ordered. "I wouldn't have selected these items if I'd known the extreme amount of sodium in this food," DeBenedetto said.

Jacobson says that although Denny's has posted sodium and other nutritional information online, that information should go on the menu. "If you drop into a Denny's, you're not going to the web. It's a totally inadequate means of informing consumers," Jacobson said.

Denny's Responds

Denny's released a statement about the lawsuit which said, "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."

By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang
©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved

[vrick_silvah]

This is the problem with our country. Everyone gets offended and upset about little things and sue the pants of everyone else.
The question is why would you eat something without knowing how much salt or anything else it contains?? Then you have the nerve to sue someone else although you're the one who decided to eat it to begin with.

The judicial sytem in america needs to change because everyone sues anyone for everything. This is why we're in a recession:1) because we gave all out money fighting in iraq 2). People in our country are to sensative and make money by suing other people. You would've though the courts or the judicial system would've caught on by now, but the courts and lawyers don't mind since they're the ones who makes the money off of all this.

[peetrerb]

Idiots... if the government wants to save some money, get rid of that department! If food tastes too salty, people wont go there!

[rmonroe401]

Denny's is disgusting. I went there ONE time, ordered pancakes. They came out filled with bacon grease and made me puke. That was the last time I stepped foot in a Denny's

[dawgeer1]

In the interest of consumer protection, companies should be required to disclose whether a menu item exceeds the daily allowance of a certain ingredient when it has been proven that excessive amounts of that ingredient may be harmful. Many companies need a nudge. Sometimes it takes a lawuit to prompt such action. We all know today that trans fats are bad for you. That was not always the case. In 2003, Stephen Joseph filed a law suit to make food giant Kraft remove trans fats from Oreo cookies, made by Kraft subsidiary Nabisco. Kraft eventually eliminated trans fat from Oreos and reduced or eliminated it in its other products. This lawsuit generated public awareness about trans fats and their dangers. Ultimately, the FDA made trans fat labelling mandatory.

[rmonroe401]

Great comment. I totally agree

[jsd330]

The lawsuits are about money, they have nothing to do with consumer protection. Some person, a group, or a lawyer thonk they can make aq quick buck there're right on it and could care less about the consumer. This country is all about taking care of "ME" and the h_ll with everybody else. By the way how much did Stephen Joseph get from Kraft/ Nabisco?

[xlib]

Wonder who the food czar will be??

[Questionews]

How about checking the nutrition chart on the website & if you don't like the salt levels in the food at Denny's, don't go to Denny's!! If they see a drop in patronage, Denny's will have to adapt or go the way of the Dodo.

[CitizenMikeM]

If you want to get rid of frivolous lawsuits--do what some other judicial systems do...if the plaintiff brings a frivilous lawsuit and loses--he pays all of both sides costs. That'll make a person think a little longer.

[Slrman-21001573651763300012869]

Sounds like the christian tactic, "believe as I believe or I'll beat you to a pulp". This time, it's do as I want you to or I'll sue you into oblivion."

These bully-boy tactics do not lend any credibility to either group and do not make anyone like them better.

[xlib]

Are you totally out of your sick, fricking mind?? What the heck does religion have to do with this?? What an idiot you are.

[proudmilvet]

Denny's should be sued for Sh**ty food!

[rwsmith29456]

Man, most any chain type restaurant has way too much salt in their food. It's a substitute for actual flavor.