Salt levels in many foods ‘unnecessarily high’


Between 2003 and 2011 average salt intake in England reduced by around 15 per
cent while the number of deaths from heart disease and stroke fell by 40 per
cent, a study of more than 30,000 patients found.

Manufacturers insist that they have already reduced salt levels in food and
that clearer labelling allows consumers to make “informed choices” about
what they eat.

However experts warn that most people still eat far too much salt, with
average intake at 8.1 grams a day – significantly above the official
recommendations.

Campaigners said The Telegraph’s survey showed that manufacturers were
“dragging their heels” and should act urgently to cut salt levels in
supermarket products.

Katharine Jenner, a public health nutritionist and campaign director of
Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash), said: “It’s not surprising
people are still consuming much more salt than the recommended six grams a
day when there are still so many unnecessarily high salt products on the
shelves, including ready meals that contain well over half your daily
maximum.

“If some manufacturers can make meals with less salt: they all can. They need
to stop dragging their heels and act now, as salt reduction saves lives.”

Ms Jenner added that those wishing to avoid less salt should check the labels
of foods and avoid products with high levels of the ingredient, or “even
better” make meals from scratch without adding the substance at all.

“You can quickly get used to less salty foods if you give your taste buds a
chance to recover,” she said.

The Telegraph surveyed 50 food items from four supermarkets, analysing a wide
range of groceries including ready meals, soups, sandwiches and dairy and
breakfast products.

Of those, 20 items contained at least a quarter of the recommended daily
allowance (RDA) of salt in one serving, with 13 containing more than a third
of the limit. In some cases the quantities were much higher than alternative
products also sold by the supermarkets.

The item with the highest amount of salt in a single serving was a Tesco prawn
masala ready meal, which contained 3.7g of the ingredient – 62 per cent of
the RDA. The amount is significantly higher than that found in some other
meals, including the Tesco Healthy Living chicken and broccoli pie, which
contains 0.9g.

A southern fried chicken sandwich from Sainsbury’s had the second highest
amount, with three grams of salt – half the daily limit – in each sandwich.

A Tesco thin and tasty meat feast pizza and a Sainsbury’s pepperoni pizza
contained 45 per cent and 44 per cent of the RDA respectively in one
“serving”, which the packaging in each case says is half a pizza. Eating all
of either pizza would mean consuming 90 per cent or 88 per cent of the RDA
in one sitting.

Cash highlighted Branston Pickle and a chicken skewers snack from Marks
Spencer as each having higher concentrations of salt than seawater. The salt
level in Branston Pickle is 4g per 100g and the skewers contain 2.78g of the
ingredient per 100g, or 1.8g overall.

Cash say Atlantic seawater has only 2.5g of salt per 100g. Ms Jenner added of
the pickle: “When you add it to a sandwich of cheese or ham, you can see how
your salt intake quickly adds up.”

She warned that the skewers contained nearly a third of the daily recommended
limit “in just a little snack”.

She also highlighted how a sponge pudding from Marks Spencer contained
1g of salt “which is more salt than you would find in two packets of crisps.”

Many of the products with high salt levels have red “traffic light” labels on
the packaging as a result of retailers under a government scheme which has
been adopted by major shops, including Marks Spencer, Sainsbury’s,
Tesco and Waitrose. However, not all manufacturers have signed up to the
system, meaning consumers have to check the nutritional information on the
back of packets to gauge salt levels.

Under the latest government guidance products classified as having “high”
levels of salt – and therefore given red labels – are those with more than
1.8g in a single portion or 1.5g per 100g.

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said the supermarket was “the first major retailer” to
implement traffic light labelling and was making it “even easier for our
customers to make informed choices.”

A spokesman for Marks Spencer said: “MS has lead the way on
salt reduction in many products. We are committed to continuing to review
the salt in our products, reformulating where possible and providing
labelling and information that helps consumers and employees take action to
reduce the salt in their diet.”

A Branston Pickle spokesman said: “Branston Pickle is typically consumed in
small portion sizes. It’s a tried, trusted and much loved British brand with
a recipe that consumers have enjoyed since 1922. As a brand, we are aware of
the ever changing needs and would always look at any product innovation our
consumers were asking for.”

Barbara Gallani, director of regulation, science and health at the Food and
Drink Federation (FDF) said: “Food manufacturers have been reducing
salt in their products for many years and gradual reductions in salt levels
have achieved considerable results.

“Recent Kantar data show that over the last five years alone FDF members have
reduced salt in their products by 10 per cent while continuing to meet
consumer expectations with regard to taste and texture.”

She added: “UK food and drink manufacturers have been providing consumers
with clear nutrition information on both the front and back of food labels
for many years.”