>>> January 17, 2002

Sel alors!
Scientist Pierre Meneton received a less-than pleased response from the French government when he filed a report on the delicate topic of salt. By attributing 75,000 heart attacks a year to excessive salt intake, and pointing out the French food industry’s opposition to limiting salt in their products, Meneton was added to the swelling ranks of names listed as a threat to national security.
His membership to the club came complete with surveillance by secret service agents of him, his family, friends and colleagues, as well as phone taps and interception of cell calls. A leaked governmental memo ordering the surveillance was published in an issue of Le Point magazine.
Meneton said he noticed something was awry over a year ago, soon after he filed his report with France’s food safety agency. After his report was made public in Le Point, the agency offered its full backing of decreased salt use. :

—Scott Saxon