Favourite pub chains lagging behind in salt reduction

3rd June 2009, 7:58am

New research carried out by London Environmental Health Officers on behalf of Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) shows that many pub meals can contain huge amounts of salt.

In some cases a three-course meal contains more than the daily maximum limit for an adult.

Levels of saturated fat in the meals tested were also often very high, with one dish containing more than double the recommended maximum daily intake for women.

Across London 57 menu items were sampled from 16 of some of the UK's favourite pub chains.

The research found that over half (55%) of the main course dishes contained 3g of salt or more, half the maximum recommended intake for a day, and 91% contained more than 2g of salt.

The saltiest main course dish found was Hunter's Chicken, from Vintage Inns' Ye Olde Cherry Tree pub in the London Borough of Enfield, with 5.78g of salt. This is just short of the 6g maximum daily intake for an adult.

The saltiest starter surveyed was Spicy Coated King Prawns from J D Wetherspoons' Moon & Stars in the London Borough of Havering, with 4.4g of salt per serving.

Desserts can also contain hidden salt: Sticky Toffee Pudding from the J D Wetherspoon Goldengrove pub in the London Borough of Newham contained 1.95g of salt, equivalent to almost a third (32.6%) of the daily salt limit for an adult.

Carrie Bolt, CASH Nutritionist said: "We are now seeing a big difference in the UK between food bought from supermarkets, and foods we eat in pubs and restaurants. UK food retailers are leading the way in reducing salt levels in our food and making sure that their products are clearly labelled so that shoppers can see how much salt and saturated fat they contain. But more and more of us are eating out on a regular basis and when we buy a meal in a pub or restaurant we generally have no way of knowing how much salt or saturated fat it contains.

"Some chains are now starting to put nutritional information in their pubs and online menus and we would like to see all pubs adopt this approach. I think that customers would be shocked by how much salt is in their favourite meals and in particular in their desserts as these taste sweet. We would also like to see pubs cut back on the amount of salt they add during the cooking stage. Then at least it is the customer's choice if they would like to add more salt at the table."

Helen Clark, Area Manager for Food Team, from the London Borough of Wandsworth added: "This is the first London-wide nutritional survey carried out by Environmental Health teams. What surprised us was not only the wide variation in levels of salt and saturated fat between different meals but also the variation between similar menu items from different pubs. This shows that without nutritional labelling of restaurant food as proposed by the Food Standards Agency it is very difficult for the public to choose a healthy option."

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