Most processed foods will fail to meet salt-reduction targets set this year by Public Health England. This week, research by the Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) showed how out of 28 categories surveyed, only one (bread rolls) will meet the targets. Salt is added to make processed food taste better – 75% of the salt we consume comes from this type of food.
Too much salt, which is linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes and kidney disease, is causing more than 14,000 preventable deaths a year, says Cash. You would expect crisps and ready meals to have a high salt content – and you might also be aware that foods such as bread can contain a lot – but the researchers also found that sweet products, such as Galaxy Ultimate Marshmallow hot chocolate contained salt, with one serving containing 0.8g –more than a typical packet of ready-salted crisps (0.46g). With the current maximum daily recommended intake of salt at 6g – a teaspoon – easily exceeded by many, where else is salt hiding?
Cereal
One 30g serving of Kellogg’s cornflakes contains 0.34g of salt, but even the company’s very sweet cereals, such as Crunchy Nut Cornflakes and Caramel Bites granola, contains the same amount.
Crumpets
Last year, Cash found that Warburtons liked to use salt in its crumpets, with the highest being its giant crumpet, with 1.55g of salt. Eat two, and you’ve had more than half of your daily salt allowance.
Anchovies
It’s not news that salted fish contain a lot of salt. But the recommended serving size might surprise you. A single fillet is a serving – and contains 9% of your daily salt allowance. Have you seen the size of an anchovy fillet? It’s barely bigger than krill.
Pizza
Again, this is about serving size. Do you really only eat half a supermarket pizza? A 290g Pizza Express La Reine pizza, with mushrooms and prosciutto, is supposed to serve two people, according to the manufacturer. Eat the whole thing and you’ll have consumed 3.92g of salt (65% of your RDA). A whole Tesco Meat Feast pizza will deliver 3.6g.
Pre-packed salads
Healthy, yes? It depends what you go for. Waitrose’s hot-smoked salmon and potato salad has 1.6g of salt, more than a quarter of your maximum level; Tesco’s chicken and bacon pasta salad contains two servings, each with 2.3g of salt.
Soup
In canned soups, ham or bacon can up the salt content (half a can of pea and ham soup from Crosse & Blackwell contains 1.3g), but many vegetable soups are just as salty. You’ll also get 1.3g of salt in half a can of Heinz vegetable soup and half a carton of New Covent Garden vegetable soup. Hands up if you only eat half a can.
Cheese
Salty cheeses, such as feta (2.51g per 100g) or halloumi (2.71g) have high levels, but other cheeses we might not think of as “salty” also contain a fair bit of salt. A 30g portion of Stilton contains around 10% of your RI, and cheddar doesn’t contain much less.
From hot chocolate to pre-packed salads: the surprising sources of salt
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