High-salt Chinese takeaway meals ‘should carry a health warning’

SALT WARNINGS should be compulsory for Chinese takeaways and ready meals, health campaigners have said.

Action on Salt say there is urgent need to reduce salt content in popular takeaways and ready meals after it was found that some dishes contain half an adult’s recommended daily allowance.

The campaign group analysed food from six Chinese restaurants which found that 97 per cent contained 2g of salt or more per dish.

And 58 per cent contained more than 3g of salt per dish – half an adult’s maximum recommended daily intake.

It said that adding side dishes meant people exceeded the 6g recommended limit in one meal alone.

Action on Salt also examined the salt content of Chinese ready meals from popular supermarkets and found that some dishes had more than 4g of salt per pack.

Of the 141 ready meals analysed, 43 per cent were deemed to be high in salt.

Prof Graham MacGregor, chairman of Action on Salt, added: “Salt is the forgotten killer as it puts up our blood pressure, leading to tens of thousands of unnecessary strokes, heart failure and heart attacks every year.”

Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said: “Our salt consumption has decreased over the last decade – a loaf of bread has 40 per cent less than it used to. However, some products are still too high in salt and we know this can be reduced further. We’ve been very clear with the food industry on the importance of meeting the 2017 salt targets. We’ll report on their progress this year and on any necessary advice to government on the next steps.”