Lawsuit alleges unsafe salt at Denny's

WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) -- A class action lawsuit filed Thursday by a New Jersey man alleges meals at Denny's contain unsafe salt levels, a non-profit groups said.

The lawsuit, filed with the support of the food advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, seeks to compel Denny's to disclose on menus the amount of sodium in each of its meals and to place a notice on its menus warning about high sodium levels.

Nick DeBenedetto, a 48-year-old resident of Tinton Falls, N.J., said he has eaten for many years at Denny's restaurants but does not cook with salt or use the salt shaker at home. He is being treated for high blood pressure.

"I was astonished to find that these simple sandwiches have more salt than someone in my condition should have in a whole day," DeBenedetto said in a statement.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends most Americans consume no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day.

At Denny's, the great majority of meals contain more sodium and some meals provide more than 4,000 mg or 5,000 mg of sodium, Michael F. Jacobson, CSPI executive director said.

For example, 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, Jacobson said.