High street chains selling meals with 3 times the salt content of fast food

An investigation by Treated.com has revealed that high street restaurant chains are serving meals that contain up to three times the amount of salt of those sold by fast food outlets. The maximum recommended salt intake for adults is between 2g and 6g a day. Too much salt can raise blood pressure, which increases the risk of health problems such as heart disease and stroke. The worst meal was a Napoletana at Pizza Express which was found to contain 9.6g. This is the equivalent of more than three times the amount found in a Big Mac and regular fries meal from McDonald's. Japanese food outlets Yo Sushi and Wagamama both came high on the list of those serving dishes with minimal salt content.

High street restaurant chains are serving meals that contain up to three times the amount of salt of fast food outlets.

An investigation has revealed popular restaurants such as Pizza Express and Ask are dishing up dangerous levels of salt on dinners.

Although they may seem like a healthier alternative to fast food outlets like McDonald's, many of the meals served at the full dining establishments contain more salt than a typical burger and fries.

Too much salt can raise blood pressure, which increases the risk of health problems such as heart disease and stroke.

The maximum recommended salt intake for adults is between 2 and 6 grams a day.

But a Napoletana at Pizza Express was found to contain 9.6 grams - more than one and a half times the upper limit of a person’s GDA salt intake.

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A Napoletana from Pizza Express had the highest salt content with 9.6 grams - more than 1.5 times the recommended daily intake for adults

THE WORST OFFENDERS - RESTAURANTS

The table shows salt content of popular dishes at high street restaurant chains. The Napoletena, at Pizza Express, came top of the chart with 9.6 grams which is more than 1.5 times the recommended daily intake

This is the equivalent of more than three times the amount found in a Big Mac and regular fries meal from McDonald's - with ingredients such as anchovies, capers, olives and mozzarella cheese to blame.

The research was conducted by Treated.com which checked salt content on menus at popular chains operating in the UK.

Many restaurant chains did not list the salt contents for meals and could not be included in the study, with researchers praising the transparency of the ones that did.

Of those that did list contents, Barburrito, a Mexican street food restaurant, had the second highest content with its beef burrito wrap.

This meal, which is served with options including onions and peppers, Ranchera salsa, cheese and guacamole, had 9 grams.

The Wetherspoons’ version of gammon and eggs, many would presume to be the saltiest of this selection, came in at third.

Conversely, fast food chains which have earned a reputation for dispensing calorie-dense, unhealthy foods over the years, fared better.

HOW FAST FOOD OUTLETS COMPARE

Fast food outlets were found to have lower levels of salt in some of the meals served with a Big Mac and regular fries at McDonald's containing a third of the Napoletena with 2.9 grams of salt

A Big Mac and regular fries meal from McDonald's was found to contain 2.9 grams of fat. The investigation found fast food outlets were leading the way by listing salt content and criticised those restaurants that didn't

THE BEST LOW SALT ALTERNATIVES - RESTAURANTS

Diners can still go out for meals with low salt content, this table shows. Yo Sushi's tuna sashimi had the lowest of meals tested at 0.1 grams while Ask's spaghetti bolognese also had a low salt content at just 0.3 grams

Tuna sashima from Yo Sushi (left) had the lowest salt content at 0.1g per serving and Wagamama's sirloin and shitake salad (right) only contained 0.6g of salt

Burger King's Whopper and regular fires contained 3.7 grams of salt per serving - although the researchers did make it clear there are saltier options at all of the take-away chains.

Low salt options were also found on many of the high street restaurant chains with Ask's spaghetti bolognese only found to have 0.3 grams per serving.

Japanese food outlets Yo Sushi and Wagamama both came high on the list of those serving dishes with minimal salt content.

Perhaps the real story here is the lack of transparency in this sector of the food industry Wayne Osborne, treated.com

Pizza Express's Leggera superfood salad was also a low-salt option was also towards the top of the list with just 0.8 grams.

Dr Wayne Osborne, of treated.com, called for more restaurants to take responsibility and list salt contents.

'Perhaps the real story here is the lack of transparency in this sector of the food industry,’ he said.

‘The brands we have included deserve praise for making their nutritional information available and easy to access.’

‘However, so many other chains operating in the UK haven’t made their nutritional information readily available.’

‘Even in those cases where the numbers don’t necessarily flatter their dishes, the brands listed above have taken the responsible decision to let their customers know how much is in their food; and this example should be followed across the board.’

A spokesperson for Pizza Express stressed it did not add salt to its pizza, adding that many ingredients already contain natural salt.

'We do not add salt to our pizzas when we’re making them, but some of the toppings can be inherently salty, as is the case with this particular pizza which is topped with capers, anchovies and olives,' he said.

'As our pizzas are handmade to order by our Pizzaiolos, they can be personalised to suit individual needs, so customers can ask for any these ingredients to be removed.

'We also offer pizzas which are considerably lower in salt. Full nutritional information is available on all of our dishes, thereby allowing customers to make an informed choice.'