Beware hidden salt in healthy salads, shoppers warned

One in ten salads contains more salt than a Big Mac, according to a new survey.

A survey of 270 salad and pasta bowls found many salads from supermarkets, high street cafes and fast food outlets provided more than half our daily 6g allowance of salt for an adult.

Victoria Taylor, senior heart health dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said: “If you’re trying to look after your heart health by having a salad instead of fast food it can be frustrating to find your supposedly healthy option comes laden with salt.

“Some of the salads in this survey provide more than half the recommended daily amount of salt for an adult in just one dish. Over time, eating a diet high in salt can increase your risk of raised blood pressure, which is linked to heart disease and stroke.

“While it’s encouraging that some products have been reformulated since the last survey in 2005, we clearly need to go further to give people a broader choice for lunch on the go with options that are healthy in terms of salt as well as calories, fat and sugar. These need to be clearly labelled too so people know what’s really in the food they buy.”

The survey was carried out by Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH).