Gail's Sandwich Hits 6.88g Salt, Breaching Adult Daily Limit in Action on Salt & Sugar Survey
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 13
Gail's Sandwich Hits 6.88g Salt, Breaching Adult Daily Limit in Action on Salt & Sugar Survey
12 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 13
6.88g of salt in Gail's smoked chicken Caesar club put a single sandwich above the 6g daily limit for adults, according to Action on Salt & Sugar's review of 546 sandwiches.
44% of the sandwiches surveyed would need a red warning label for salt, and more than one in 10 exceeded government salt targets, which the campaign group called a hidden health risk for lunch buyers.
Gail's sandwich also contained more than 1,000 calories and 90% of an adult's daily saturated fat intake; other high-salt products named included Gail's smoked salmon bagel at 4.2g and Pret's ham & grevé baguette at 3.85g.
Action on Salt & Sugar said the levels were avoidable, pointing to similar products with far less salt, and urged stronger government action after calling voluntary reformulation targets a failure.
11.5 billion sandwiches are eaten in the UK each year, giving salt reduction outsized public-health importance because excess intake raises blood pressure and the risk of heart attack and stroke.
With voluntary salt targets failing, why are governments hesitant to mandate healthier recipes from the food industry?
Your 'healthy' sandwich may be a salt bomb. Are food labels designed to inform or to deliberately confuse consumers?
Some nations are winning the war on salt. What proven public health strategies are other countries simply ignoring?