Bread and breakfast cereals are among the highest salt-contributing foods in our diet, a study by the Government has found.
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In an advertising campaign by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that starts today (5 October), the health watchdog will warn that more than three quarters of people (77%) are unaware that bread and breakfast cereals are among the daily foods that contribute most salt to our diet.
The campaign is urging people to pay closer attention to the salt levels in the foods they are buying and aims to encourage people to reduce the amount of salt they eat by checking labels on foods and choosing products that are lower in salt.
Too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, the FSA is warning, which triples the risk of heart disease and stroke and doubles the chance of dying from the diseases.
“Salt intakes are coming down, but if we are to get closer to meeting our target of reducing intakes to a maximum of 6g a day for adults, and lower levels for children, people need to become more aware of the foods which contribute the most, as it isn’t just the obvious things we need to watch out for as far as salt is concerned,” said Rosemary Hignett, head of nutrition at the FSA.
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By GlobalDataShe added: “We’re not suggesting people stop eating these foods. In fact, we encourage people to eat bread and breakfast cereals, as they are an important part of a healthy diet. But we are saying take a look at the labels to find those that are lower in salt. This could be a supermarket own-label product, and maybe one from the “value” range. If so, any cost saving is an added bonus.”
The survey also found that many people (40%) believe that supermarket “value” ranges are higher in salt than other ranges, although this isn’t necessarily the case., according to the FSA. Supermarket own-label versions of some foods, including bread, were found to often be lower in salt than the branded versions.
A spokesperson for Kellogg said: “We support the salt awareness message – and put it on packs of our no added salt foods – but it’s wrong to say that breakfast cereals are big contributor to salt intakes. Cereals account for less than 3% of the salt we put in our shopping baskets every year – if you want to address public health there are more obvious foods to focus on.
Kellogg added that a bowl of Rice Krispies gives consumer less than a tenth of their daily allowance for salt and that over the next couple of months it will reduce that by a further 20%.
“We’ve been reducing salt in our cereals, by a total of 40%, for the last ten years – that’s why we’re disappointed to be singled out in this campaign and, given that the FSA also say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, we’d be even more disappointed if people were left wondering what they should serve for breakfast if toast and cereals were off the menu.”
Around 2,000 people took part in the survey across the UK, which asked questions about their attitudes to salt.
