• August 21, 2012

Boston Market will reduce the salt in three of its signature menu items -- rotisserie chicken, macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes -- by 20% within the next six months. In addition, the chain will take salt shakers off of tables, making them available only at beverage stations.

CEO George Michel said that Boston Market will reduce sodium levels by 15% menu-wide by the end of 2014. "It's time for us to focus on making our food better," he told USA Today, noting that some consumers had asked for lower sodium in the chain's foods.

The sodium counts for a quarter (white) rotisserie chicken will be reduced from 710 to 568 mg, mac and cheese from 1,100 to 880 mg, and mashed potatoes from 820 to 607 mg. The CDC recommends that most adults consume a maxium of 2,300 mg of sodium per day.

But chief brand officer Sara Bittorf stressed that Boston Market does not aspire to reposition itself as "healthy" QSR.