Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH), which conducted the research, said that while most consumers were aware that a full fry-up including sausages, bacon and beans is high in salt, few would be aware that a bowl of cereal and two slices of toast with butter and Marmite contains 2.8g of salt, or almost half the recommended daily intake for adults. It also highlighted high salt content in shop-bought muffins and pastries as a cause for concern.
Reformulation
According to the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), however, salt reduction has long been a priority for food manufacturers, and its members have been working hard to reduce the overall salt content of their products and to formulate lower salt varieties of popular brands.
An FDF spokesperson told BakeryandSnacks.com: “Last year, some 238 tonnes of salt were removed from breakfast cereal products and 238 tonnes were also removed from bread. The amount of salt in cakes and muffins reduced by 28.5 per cent between February 2006 and March 2007.”
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) published research earlier this year which showed that the UK’s average daily salt intake has declined from 9.5g per capita in 2000 to 8.6g today. About 75 per cent of this is already in food, with the rest added by the consumer, and the FSA has said it is committed to working with industry to reduce salt consumption further.
Last month, the FDF outlined the difficulties faced by food manufacturers in further reducing salt content at a reformulation symposium in London. Typically more than half the sodium content of bakery products comes from sources other than added salt, such as raising agents and salted butter.
An FDF spokesperson said: “Industry’s reformulation efforts are underpinned by the widespread use of front-of-pack nutrition labels using guideline daily amount information to educate consumers that they should aim to consume no more than 6g of salt a day.”
High-salt pastries
CASH surveyed over 200 items from June to October and found a coffee and pastry on the way to work could contain as much as 2g of salt. A Starbucks cinnamon swirl, for example, was found to contain as much salt as two rashers of bacon, while some American-style muffins were found to contain the same amount as three standard bags of crisps.
CASH nutritionist Carrie Bolt said: “I think that people are becoming more aware of the importance of having a good breakfast as part of a healthy diet. I also think most people know that a full English breakfast is a salty option, but many will be surprised to learn that it could contain their whole salt limit for the day, and many more will be surprised that a seemingly healthy start to the day of breakfast cereals and toast can be laden with salt.”
Excessive consumption of salt is a key risk factor for high blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. The FSA says that reducing average daily salt intake to 6g could prevent over 20,000 premature deaths a year in the UK.