Ready meals salt levels revealed

Tuesday 10 June 2003

FSA survey of ready meals shows nearly half contain more than 40% of target daily salt intake

Ref: 2003/0383

A survey of popular ready meals published today (10.6.03) by the Food Standards Agency shows that some ready meals aimed at children have levels of salt as high as standard adult ready meals, and some 'healthy option' meals contain more than half a whole day's target intake.

Many ready meals are very high in salt, with just under half the products surveyed containing more than 40% of the daily adult salt target of 6 grams.

The Agency published guidelines on salt intake for children and adults on 15 May 2003, following a report by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition on the link between salt and health.

People with high blood pressure are three times more likely to develop heart disease and stroke.

High blood pressure contributes to more than 170,000 deaths per year in England alone. Of these, stroke causes about 50,000 deaths, as well as substantial illness and disability every year.

The survey included six types of ready meals that are on sale in most major supermarkets: shepherd's pie, macaroni cheese, lasagne, chicken korma and rice, spaghetti and meatballs, and chicken nuggets and chips.

Where possible, the standard version of the meal, the 'healthy choice' option, and the version aimed at children were bought from seven different supermarkets. The salt content listed on the labels was recorded. Results included:

• Products aimed specifically at children were often high in salt. The target intake for 7-10 year olds is 5 grams per day, but a number of meals, including three of the Asda 'More for Kids' products such as macaroni cheese and shepherd's pie were found to contain more than 40% of the daily target intake for children of this age.
• On average, although 'healthy eating' ready meals often contained a little less salt than the standard versions, the differences were small. One meal - Asda 'Good For You' lasagne - had 60% of an adult's target daily intake of 6 grams per day. Safeway had two of the lowest salt products: lasagne, and chicken korma and rice from their 'Eat Smart' range. Heinz Weightwatchers and Birds Eye Less Than 3% Fat chicken korma were also relatively low in salt.
• 83% of all the standard products contained more than 40% of one day's target salt intake.
• Of those manufacturers that had products in all categories, Tesco's products contained the least salt overall. Asda had the most products that contained more than 40% of the recommended daily salt intake.
• Sainsbury's shepherd's pie had 5.9 grams of salt per portion - 98.3% of the target daily salt intake for adults.

Some producers, such as Findus and Uncle Ben's, do not include complete nutritional information on their labels, and so the survey (and therefore consumers), could not compare them to other products.

The FSA is urging all producers to include full nutritional information on their labels - including amounts of salt, fat (with saturated fat as a proportion of this), and sugar.

Discussions with the food industry are continuing. The Food and Drink Federation has made commitments to reduce salt in products such as soups and sauces.

At a recent consumer consultation meeting at the FSA, consumer and health groups, and industry representatives, agreed that more progress needs to be made on the reformulation of processed foods to contain less salt.

Sir John Krebs, Chair of the Food Standards Agency, said: 'Ready meals are increasingly popular for many consumers, and can be a fast and easy way for parents to feed the family.

'But our survey shows that many have very high levels of salt in them. This leaves little room for the salt we take in from other foods such as bread and cereals. Convenience shouldn't mean an increased health risk. And when products aimed particularly at children contain lots of salt, it's even harder for parents to make sure their kids aren't eating too much.

'It is possible to reduce the amounts of salt in ready meals - that's clear because there was up to a four-fold variation in the amounts of salt we found in the same types of meal. Manufacturers and retailers are starting to respond to our calls, but they need to go further and play their part in improving the health of the nation.

'It isn't acceptable for ready meals loaded with salt to be called 'healthy' options. They are far from it and mislead consumers. The food industry has a responsibility to be honest with consumers and we will be checking again next year to see what progress they have made.'