One in four savoury picnic foods is high in salt and would qualify for a red label on front of pack. This was among the findings from the new nationwide survey by Action on Salt, the expert group based at Queen Mary University of London.
It has called for the immediate compulsory front of pack nutritional labelling on all picnic savouries as the food content of a typical picnic basket could contain more than 5g of salt.
The research analysed 555 savoury picnic finger foods available from retailers, highlighted the worrying levels of salt in these products.
Examples of saltiest products
Whilst it is not surprising that olives are salty, the salt content of certain products is appalling. A 150g pack of Aldi Specially Selected Hand Stuffed Halkidiki Olives has 5g of salt per 100g, which is double the salt concentration of seawater and 1.9g of salt per portion – that is a third of an adult’s daily-recommended limit of salt in just five olives.
Marks and Spencer Stone in Full Bodied Greek Kalamata Olives 260g had a shocking 4.23g of salt per suggested 130g portion.
Aside from olives, other salt offenders with the highest salt per portion include:
Ginsters Cornish Pasty (272g) with 2.99g of salt per portion, equivalent to seven portions of salted peanuts
Aldi Eat and Go Sausages and Ketchup with 2.2g per portion, as much salt as 4.5 bags of ready salted crisps
Fry's Spicy 3 Bean Pasty (200g), 1.8g per portion which is the amount of salt in a McDonald’s hamburger and fries.
In comparison, Scotch eggs, with an average salt content of 0.76g/100g and quiche, with an average salt content of 0.54g/100g, were the lowest salt categories.
Salt targets
Salt targets were set in 2014 to be met by 2017. In 2018, Public Health England (PHE) released an analysis of the food industry’s progress towards achieving the 2017 targets which revealed many of the targets had not been fully met.
Our survey similarly found a staggering half of products were higher in salt than their average salt targets and 17% had more salt than their maximum target.
These include:
Higgidy Bold and Earthy Spinach, Feta and Roasted Tomato Quiche: 155g – 89g/100g (maximum salt target: 0.68g/100g)
Waitrose and Partners Spanish Style Chicken Kebabs: 80g–95g/100g (maximum salt target: 0.88g/100g)
Pork Farms Original Medium Pork Pie: 32g/100g (maximum salt target: 1g/100g)
Over the last two years, PHE and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have taken little action to encourage the food industry to meet the 2017 targets. However following the release of the Health Minister’s Green Paper last month, now is the opportunity to engage food companies in salt reduction, reiterate the need to meet the 2017 targets and ensure that the proposed 2020 salt reduction targets are strictly monitored.
Mhairi Brown, nutritionist, Action on Salt, said, “This survey highlights just how easy it is for consumers to unknowingly eat huge amounts of salt and saturated fat hidden in savoury snacks and picnic favourites. Food manufacturers must get on board in our efforts to improve the nation’s health. We found a large variation in the salt content of product categories proving reformulation is easily achievable. We want to see the food industry disclosing nutritional information clearly on front of pack on all products so everyone can easily find healthier options.”
Sonia Pombo, campaign lead, Action on Salt, said, “Picnics are a British favourite but with all the different salty options on offer. It is a sure way of upping your salt intake.”
“Eating too much salt puts us at risk of suffering from heart disease or stroke, but we are all eating much more salt than the recommended limit of 6g per day, with salt intake in the UK averaging 8g per day,” she added.
“The challenge facing consumers is that most of the salt in our diet is already present in the foods we buy, and so the government must take action now and ensure the food industry improves the quality of their food for the benefit of our health,” Pombo said.
Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine, Queen Mary University of London, and chair, Action on Salt, added, “Due to inaction by the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England in enforcing the 2017 salt reduction targets, the public is still eating more salt than recommended, which is leading to thousands dying or suffering from entirely unnecessary strokes and heart disease.”
“Reducing salt is one of the most cost-effective measures to protect health. The time has come for the Secretary of State for Health to resuscitate the UK’s salt reduction programme, helping us to, once again, be world-leading rather than trailing behind the rest of the world. The public’s health has suffered long enough,” he added.