Denny's Salty Shock

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has filed a lawsuit against Denny's (DENN) for the restaurant chain's failure to disclose the criminally copious amount of salt its meals contain.

Whether or not you believe the lawsuit has merit, you have to be shocked by how much salt Denny's puts in its food. The recommended amount of daily sodium intake is 2,300 milligrams. Denny's Moons Over My Hammy sandwich contains 2,580 milligrams, according to the lawsuit. The Spicy Buffalo Chicken Melt contains 4,120 milligrams. And this is just incredible: The Meat Lover's Scramble contains 5,690 milligrams of sodium.

CSPI is suing in a pending class action on behalf of a New Jersey man, Nick DeBennetto, 48. He wants Denny's to disclose the amount of salt in each of its meals and to place a warning about the health effects on its menu. People with hypertension—which DeBennetto says he has—are advised to consume no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day.

Denny's calls the lawsuit "frivolous and without merit" and promises to "fight it aggressively." The chain also noted that it serves some healthy meals, so customers aren't forced to eat its thrombotic dishes.

Interestingly, nutrition advocate Marion Nestle noted on her blog today that she "heard about this from a reporter from Nation's Restaurant News who thought the suit was absurd. Everyone knows Denny's food isn't healthy, she suggested."

Could that reporter be Elissa Elan, who wrote the trade magazine's article about the lawsuit?