Scientists Agree: Denny's Is Dangerous [Sodium]

Scientists Agree: Denny's Is Dangerous [Sodium]

via Consumerist by Carey on 7/25/09

Denny's entrees are loaded with dangerous amounts of salt, according to a class action suit filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The CDC recommends consuming no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium each day, but some Denny's entrees contain a whopping 5,500 milligrams.

No Denny's dish contain less than 500 milligrams of sodium, and 75% of them contain more than the maximum recommended allowance, including:

• Moons Over My Hammy, a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich, has 2,580 mg of sodium by itself-more than even a healthy young person should consume in a day. It's served with hash browns (adding 650 mg of sodium) or grits (an additional 840 mg).
• The Super Bird sandwich, served with regular French fries, has 2,610 mg of sodium-more than twice what someone with high blood pressure should consume in a day.
• Denny's Meat Lover's Scramble, which has two eggs with chopped bacon, diced ham, crumbled sausage, Cheddar cheese, plus two bacon strips, two sausage links, hash browns, and two pancakes has 5,690 mg sodium, or 379 percent of the advised daily limit.
• A full meal at Denny's consisting of a bowl of clam chowder, a Spicy Buffalo Chicken Melt, and a side of seasoned fries contains an alarmingly high 6,700 mg of sodium. It's a big meal, to be sure, with about 1,700 calories. But that's more sodium than what 70 percent of Americans should consume in four and a half days.

Ew!

Denny's: Public Health Enemy # 1 [Consumer Law & Policy Blog]
(Photo: oddharmonic)

CA's Menu-Labeling Law Inspires Restaurants To Cut Calories [Menu Labeling]

CA's Menu-Labeling Law Inspires Restaurants To Cut Calories [Menu Labeling]

via Consumerist by Alex Chasick on 7/15/09

California's law requiring that chain restaurants post calorie counts for their foods took effect earlier this month. It's already producing results, as two chains, Macaroni Grill and Denny's, are reexamining and revising their offerings.

According to the Sacramento Bee:

Romano's Macaroni Grill, with four locations in the [Sacramento] region, has managed to squeeze a whopping 880 calories out of just one salad, as the chain's menu undergoes a massive revamp under new ownership.
...
The new [Denny's] Grand Slam – two eggs, two sausages, two bacon slices and pancakes – is a build-your-own option with substitutions such as chicken instead of pork, egg whites, turkey bacon and whole wheat pancakes. For another 49 cents, add-ons such as yogurt are available.

With the healthier options, the Grand Slam drops from 882 calories to 546, not to mention a 70 percent drop in fat grams.

This is a nice bonus of menu-labeling: some restaurants will be too ashamed to continue offering items like 1,200 calorie salads and will look for ways to make their foods more healthful. Although we're sure there will be complaints about a person's individual freedom to eat as much crap and be as fat as he wants, we think the public health benefits outweigh such concerns (especially considering that in the instances here, Denny's is keeping things like Moon Over My Hammy intact, and the type of person we just described probably wasn't celebrating his gluttony with a 1,200-calorie scallop and spinach salad at Macaroni Grill).

Although it's good to see restaurants retooling their menus, the main purpose of menu-labeling laws is to allow consumers to make informed decisions about the foods they eat. It's up to you, not the restaurant, to ensure you eat reasonably.

California Calorie Law Alters Chains' Fare [SacBee]
(Photo: satosphere)