SALT- SHAKEN

Fast- food chains dumb on sodium

Take New York City menus with a grain of salt. When the city proposed that all chain restaurants warn customers about menu items that exceed the daily recommended limit of 2,300 milligrams of sodium, restaurateurs were quick to blast the bill, pointing to a new federal law they said already forced eateries to dish out the information upon request.

So The Post put the claim to the test — and found out most eateries were either unable or unwilling to give out the information while others had trouble simply understanding the question.

“I don’t knowwhat you mean by sodium. How does this relate to the meal?” a clueless employee at a Pope yes Louisian a Chicken in Brooklyn clucked this week after the city Department of Health unveiled its proposal.

Other responses were equally confounding.

“I’m not supposed to reveal that to customers,” a manager at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Downtown Brooklyn explained.

A worker at a McDonald’s in Flushing said, “It’s the 21st century. Answers are found on the Internet.”

A manager at a McDonald’s on 42nd Street in Times Square claimed he had been working there for seven years and had “never heard anyone ever ask [ for] them before.”

“Well, you know, it’s not really New York City law, so we’re not required to have it,” explained a manager at the Red Lobster in Times Square.

Workers at Shake Shack, Five Guys, Subway and Johnny Rockets— all near Grand Central Station— also couldn’t reveal any sodium information.

And Potbelly Sandwich Works, Buffalo Wild Wings, Panera Bread, Cinnabon, Applebee’s, Sbarro, Nathan’s, IHOP, Taco Bell, Outback Steakhouse, Papa John’s and White Castle— all in Brooklyn and Queens — couldn’t comeup with the information either.

Overall, the worst offenders were McDonald’s , Dunkin’ Donuts and Subway— which together had 24 different locations citywide that did not have the sodium content info for their menu items.

But staff at every Burger King, Wendy’s, KFC, Olive Garden, Boston Market and Chipotle visited by The Post did pass on the salt data.

Melissa Fleischut, president of the New York State Restaurant Association, told The Post a “general lack of awareness” was to blame for employees being unable to pony up the numbers.

“I really don’t know as to what level of education that corporate is providing,” she said. “More training needs to be done.”

Fleischut said part of the confusion is that the federal law doesn’t go into effect until Jan. 1, 2016: “The law does mandate it, but implementation is not forced,” she said.

The city’s proposal could roll out as soon as December, according to a DOH spokesman.