Why the salt shaker left your table

Said George Michel,chief executive of Boston Market “As part of our social responsibility and promise to deliver wholesome food,we wanted to take a bold step like this.”

Sodium reduction has lately become a culinary cause célèbre. Subway,Burger King and Taco Bell,as well as food manufacturers like Campbell Soup and PepsiCo,have all publicly vowed to produce lower-sodium products. Critics say the precautions are getting ahead of the science. Unlike tobacco and alcohol,sodium remains a topic of sometimes angry debate among researchers. There is no evidence that those without hypertension need less sodium,critics say,and too little of the essential nutrient could be as dangerous as too much.

“The science does not support an effort to reduce sodium in people who eat around 3 1/2 grams of sodium a day,” said Michael H. Alderman,editor of the American Journal of Hypertension. “Yet here we are doing silly things that are PR.”

On the other side are public health advocates,most notably the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “There is conclusive evidence that high-salt diets lead to hypertension,” said Michael F. Jacobson,executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest,“and there is conclusive evidence that hypertension increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.”

Two years ago,the Institute of Medicine called on the Food and Drug Administration to set limits on the amount of sodium that restaurants and other food purveyors could use. The matter led to much saber-rattling in conservative political circles,with Fox News commentators ridiculing the proposal as a violation of personal liberties. Some Boston Market patrons seemed put off by the situation.

“It’s like we’re being slapped on the hand,” said Sandra Otero,who was eating at a Boston Market in New York. “I myself don’t eat salt,because I understand the health benefits. But I should have the autonomy to make that choice for myself.”

Boston Market may be the first chain in the country to take salt shakers off the table. The only places where such a practice seems common are Buenos Aires,Argentina,where a 2011 health law requires restaurant patrons who want a salt shaker to ask their server for one.

Salt reduction can be a double-edged sword for food companies. While consumers are looking for healthier items,they are also quick to punish companies that offer them at the expense of taste. And while companies like McDonald’s and Applebee’s have gotten considerable advertising mileage from items like Asian chicken salads and under-500-calorie meals,low-salt items make for poor ad copy given their suggestion of less flavour.

There is little debate that people already suffering from hypertension should back away from the salt shaker. But because measuring sodium in humans is difficult,it is nearly impossible to stage largescale studies that might establish a connection between high sodium and lethal events.

“Large-scale trials of sodium reduction on hard outcomes,such as heart attacks,strokes and deaths,in general populations are impossible,for logistical considerations,” said Dr. Lawrence Appel,an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.

Still,some Boston Market customers expressed gratitude for the removal of the shakers.

“I’m OK with it,because too much salt is not good for you,” Sandy Sanduro,a teacher,said. “I use pepper.”