Chinese meal has twice the recommended daily salt limit

CHINESE food should come with a health warning, campaigners warn today as research shows some dishes contain five times more salt than a Big Mac.

Beef with black bean sauce is the worst offender, analysis of London Chinatown takeaway menus showed, with more than six grams of salt per serving, equivalent to an adult’s total recommended daily allowance. When served with egg fried rice, which contains up to five grams of salt per portion, the total salt content rises to 11.5g, or twice the recommended daily limit. By contrast, a Mcdonald’s Big Mac contains 2.3g of salt, which is still around a third of the recommended healthy limit.

The report, by campaign group Action on Salt, contained good news for fans of sweet and sour chicken, which was found to be the least salty dish, with around 2.3g of salt per portion.

Eating too much salt has been linked to degenerative health conditions including heart disease. In a bid to combat over-consumption, the Government has set salt reduction targets for food producers, but they will not stretch to small takeaways.

The research also advised consumers to exercise caution when adding soy sauce to meals, as it is over five times saltier than seawater.

Sarah Alderton, assistant nutritionist at Action on Salt, said: “Considering how many millions of takeaways and ready meals are eaten in the UK each week, the food industry must be held to account, with new salt targets set by the Government to ensure the salt content of these meals is reduced to much lower levels. If the industry don’t comply, they should be made mandatory.”