#salt levels

Health

Major brands blamed for 'shocking rise in food salt content'

There has been a "shocking" rise in the salt content of food in people's shopping baskets, with major brands at fault, according to a new study. Despite dozens of firms signing up to a voluntary deal to cut salt levels, health campaigners said too many everyday foods still contain too much salt. Research from the Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) found that products such as tinned tomato soup, cheddar cheese and chilled ready meals are among the worst offenders for increasing salt in recent years. Some tinned tomato soup has more soup than a Big Mac and fries.

It's imperative that responsibility for nutrition be handed back to an independent agency where it is not affected by changes in government, ministers, political lobbying and pressure from the food industry.

Prof Graham MacGregor

"It's imperative that responsibility for nutrition be handed back to an independent agency where it is not affected by changes in government, ministers, political lobbying and pressure from the food industry," said Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary University of London and chairman of Cash. He said that under an old scheme run by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), with involvement from Cash, the UK led the world in salt reduction. But the the Responsibility Deal run by the Department of Health - where firms sign up to a voluntary code to cut salt in food - was not working. Even breakfast cereals saw salt content rise – Sainsbury's cornflakes increased 42% from 0.74g/100g to 1.05g/100g in recent years.

How unfortunate that the huge progress made by the food industry in reducing salt levels whilst under scrutiny from the independent Food Standards Agency has lost momentum since the introduction of the Responsibility Deal.