Hot chocolate has as much salt as seawater

Campaigners call for curbs on popular brands with bread rolls the only food hitting target limits

DRINKING chocolate is as salty as seawater, campaigners have warned, after discovering that most foods will fail to meet Public Health England targets for salt reduction by the end of the year.

Health experts from Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) said the latest results were “a national scandal” and have called for new limits to be set, with food companies facing fines if they do not meet goals.

Manufacturers are working towards a voluntary commitment to reduce salt levels by the end of the year. Yet research by Cash and Queen Mary University of London has found that, out of 28 food categories, only bread rolls reached agreed reduction. Atlantic seawater has 1g of sodium per ml, the same as the powdered chocolate.

Galaxy Ultimate Marshmallow Hot Chocolate was found to be as salty as seawater, with 16 times more salt than the maximum target. Each serving is worse than eating a bag of crisps, experts found. Baxters Chef Selections Cullen Skink contained 50 per cent more salt than the target reduction, per 100g, while Aldi The Fishmonger Piri Piri Smoked Mackerel Fillets had four times more than the target level. Prof Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary and chairman of Cash, said: “This is a national scandal. The UK was leading the world in salt reduction, but PHE are doing nothing to ensure that the 2017 salt targets are met.” Most people still eat a third more than maximum recommended intake, which can eventually lead to heart attacks, strokes, dementia and kidney disease.

An Aldi spokesman said: “We are fully committed to the UK Responsibility Deal 2017 Salt Targets and are continuously working to reduce salt levels across our range.”