Does fast food contain any more salt than ‘proper’ food?
As if you didn’t encounter enough traffic lights on the way to the supermarket, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been trying to encourage manufacturers to add them to the food you buy when you get there.
The FSA’s scheme has met with a fair bit of success in the past couple of years, but the three-colour system to warn of high salt, sugar or fat levels is by no means universal – Tesco doesn’t use it, as it believes that amber signs confuse customers.
You’re currently unlikely to see the scheme in cafes, pubs and restaurants, either, which could be a problem according to research published last week. The charity Consensus Action on Salt & Health (CASH) says that the levels of salt in some fast foods are “shockingly high”.
CASH’s study, released to coincide with half term, looked at the salt content in individual items and advertised “meal deals” available from Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), McDonald’s and Pizza Hut. It found that a family of four sharing a Cheesy Bites Meat Feast, one Medium Pan Super Supreme, one Garlic Bread, one Potato Wedges, one Saucy Chicken Wings (Buffalo) and four individual Madagasca Vanilla Cheesecakes from Pizza Hut would together eat 49.1g of salt.
The government recommends a maximum daily salt intake for adults of just 6g. CASH says that, at 12.3g each, this particular meal would expose a child aged 7–10 to nearly 2 1⁄2 times their 5g recommended limit, and a child of 6 to four times their 3g limit. A high intake of salt is linked to high blood pressure and other circulatory diseases. The companies surveyed said that they have reduced the salt content of their foods, with Pizza Hut adding that the pizzas in the survey were not part of a family meal deal.
All salted out
Similar Posts:
- Upmarket restaurants serve salty food too!
- Five best websites for children under-5Rainy-day activities for kids
- UK Car Scrappage SchemeCar Scrapping Scheme
- Going zero-waste: an interview with Mrs Green of myzerowaste.com
- What’s a locavore? How to find local food in the UK
Originally posted 2007-10-22 08:14:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
