New study reveals hidden health snag
THE humble sausage sandwiched in bread and smothered in sauce has a hidden snag – it can contain almost half an adult’s recommended daily salt intake.
New research by health experts reveals there is a massive difference in the salt content of sausages, with some snags more than three times saltier than others.
The George Institute for Global Health, VicHealth and Heart Foundation of Victoria want food manufacturers to reduce sodium levels in sausages to make it easier to make healthy choices.
Most adults are already consuming double the recommended daily salt intake, increasing their risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, kidney disease and stroke.
Heart Foundation dietitian Sian Armstrong said manufacturers of processed meats such as bacon and sliced meat had reduced their salt content, but not sausages.
A report released today looking at the salt content of 1000 processed meats found sausages contained on average 1.2g, which is one quarter of the World Health Organisation’s guideline of 5g a day.
Coles had four out of the five sausages with the highest salt content.
Kangaroo snags and Woolworth’s lamb snags were among the five snags with the least sodium.
The George Institute’s nutritionist Clare Farrand said some sausages contained 2g of salt per serving.
A Coles spokesman said the survey was based on nutritional information on products, which was not consistent across brands, and its labelling was based on cooked products while many other brands used values for raw product.