Wendy s ups the salt, naturally

Wendy s fries continue to lose taste tests to McDonald s, so they ve decided to reformulate for the first time in 41 years by upping the sodium content with sea salt. Compared with regular salt, sea salt has larger granules that pack more flavor with each dash, yet instead of adding less sea salt to achieve the same sodium levels, it s actually making their fries saltier. A medium-sized serving of their new natural cut fries with sea salt contains 500 milligrams of sodium compared to the original 350 milligrams. The CDC recommends a daily intake of no more than 2,300 milligrams by young, healthy people. In addition to sea salt, Wendy s is also leaving some potato skin on the fries, giving them a look that reminds this writer of the fries sold on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk in Delaware.

ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan believes the marketing of sea salt as distinct from regular salt is misleading. I m worried that some people who want to restrict their salt intake will choose to eat the fries because they ll think, Oh, that s sea salt, it doesn t count. I wonder when Mayor Bloomberg s anti-salt campaign is going to take on Wendy s?

Maybe Mayor Bloomberg should start using sea salt, jokes ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom. I ve heard that the salt from the East River is especially tasty.