The plant-based meat substitutes packed with salt

PLANT-BASED sausages, meatballs and other alternatives to meat are often excessively high in salt, according to research.

Vegan and vegetarian products are seen as having a ‘health halo’, but their salt levels breached government guidelines, a study found.

More than 75 per cent of the products analysed failed to meet the Government’s salt reduction targets. Researchers from Queen Mary University of London compared 207 plant-based meat products with 226 meat products.

They found plant-based meat to have fewer calories, total and saturated fat and more fibre than meat equivalents, the research backed by Action on Salt said.

But their salt content was significantly higher than meat in five out of six product categories. Only two of the plant-based products would be considered low in salt (less than 0.3g of salt per 100g), compared with 45 meat products. The plantbased alternatives included Linda McCartney vegetarian meatballs, M&S plant-based chicken kievs, Quorn Best of British sausages, as well as products by Waitrose, Birds Eye, Co-op, Richmond and the Vegetarian Butcher.

Study co-author Professor Graham MacGregor told the journal Nutrients: ‘Reducing salt is the most cost-effective measure to lower blood pressure, reduce health inequalities and prevent people from dying unnecessarily.

‘The Government put the food industry in charge of public health at the public’s expense. The time has now come to take back control and force the industry to act more responsibly.’