High salt levels in bread warning

2nd September 2011 - Which is saltier - a packet of crisps or a slice of bread? The answer may surprise you. New research has found that a slice of bread from one in four loaves contains as much salt per slice as a packet of crisps.

The health campaign group Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) checked the salt content of 294 fresh and packaged loaves on sale in the UK.  The loaf with the highest salt content contained more than 2g of salt per 100g.

Freshly baked bread doesn't have a nutritional label, so it is hard for us to find out how much salt it contains.

Why too much salt is bad

Our bodies need some salt, but eating too much is linked to high blood pressure and a greater risk of heart disease.

The recommended daily maximum for an adult is less than 6g of salt a day - about a teaspoon full.

Official figures from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey show that bread makes up between 17% and 19% of our salt intake.

The salt findings

CASH found that high street bakery chains generally sell the saltiest bread. Supermarkets’ unlabelled in-store bakery bread is generally higher in salt than their packaged bread.

In a statement, CASH campaign director Katharine Jenner from Queen Mary, University of London, says: "Most people wouldn’t realise that bread contains so much salt, as it doesn’t taste salty.

"You certainly wouldn’t expect to be eating more salt than a packet of crisps in just one slice of your favourite bread! It is scandalous that there is no labelling on fresh bread; without it, how are we supposed to know where salt is hidden and cut our intake to less than 6g a day?"

In a statement reacting to the findings, Victoria Taylor, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, says: "Contrary to popular belief, salty food doesn’t necessarily have to be junk food. A lot of bread is clearly packed with sodium and because it’s such a staple part of our diet, bread can end up significantly bumping up the amount of salt we eat each day."

Labelling rules

The Department of Health says there are EU rules about salt levels in bread. A claim like 'low salt' or added vitamins or minerals have to be declared on a label, otherwise providing salt information is voluntary.

It says 58 companies have signed up to the government's Responsibility Deal salt targets, including those set for bread.

Putting less of something into a product like bread sounds easy enough, but the Department of Health says bread manufacturers have reported technical problems with reduced salt, with increased stickiness, collapsing dough, poor shape and crumb structure. It says more research is being done into the barriers to further salt reductions in bread.

New rules on nutrition labelling are expected to be announced by the EU later this year. For most pre-packed foods, information on energy (calories), fat, saturates, carbohydrates, sugars, protein and salt are expected to become mandatory.