Valentine’s Day meals have ‘shockingly high’ salt levels

Advocacy group Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) has found ‘shockingly high’ levels of salt in Valentine’s Day meals manufactured for major supermarkets.

Food produced for Marks & Spencer’s (M&S) range contained the highest levels of sodium, particularly its meal deal including an Italian antipasto selection, gammon shanks, truffled cauliflower cheese and Dutch apple tarts.

According to CASH, M&S’ meal contained around 7.15 grams of salt per person, more than an adult’s daily recommended maximum allowance.

The survey also identified that Valentine’s Day meals produced for Waitrose, Morrisons and Asda also had a considerable level of salt. Food from Waitrose contained 5.49g of salt per person (or 92% of an adult’s daily maximum), with Morrisons at 5.45g per person (91%), and Asda at 5.24g per person (87%).

CASH campaign manager Sonia Pombo said: “While Valentine treats are fine, there is no need to make it at the expense of our health. Many of these meal combinations provide an excessive amount of salt and calories, saturates and sugars, all of which put us at increased risk of heart disease, and could easily be reformulated, with much lower levels of salt.”

​“Too much salt raises our blood pressure, putting unnecessary strain on our hearts, leading to strokes and heart attacks,” said CASH chairman Professor Graham MacGregor.

“We should all be aiming for less that 6g salt a day, which is hard whilst the food industry is still filling our food with salt.”

He called on the government to create a strategy to reduce the level of salt in foods while ending the promotion of unhealthy options by manufacturing companies, which have resulted in thousands of necessary deaths, according to MacGregor.

“At this time of the year we should be thinking about protecting the heart of the one we love” said CASH campaign director Katharine Jenner.

“By avoiding these salty ready-prepared meals and cooking a meal with fresh ingredients we can all help cut down our salt intake.”

A recent report mentioned by CASH indicated that potassium-based salt in food manufacturing would be healthier for consumers than sodium.

CASH declared 12-18 March to be the nineteenth Salt Awareness Week, established to remind people of the harmful effects of consuming too much salt, while reminding the food industry to reduce the amount of salt they use and provide healthier options.

The pressure group is also hosting a parliamentary reception at the House of Commons regarding salt reduction in UK food. Attendees will include the Department of Health, likeminded NGO’s and representatives from the food industry.