Most meal deal snacks contain ‘dangerously high’ levels of salt, sugar or fat

Action on Salt is calling for ‘stronger measures’ to be enforced

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Up to 70 per cent of snacks bought with supermarket meal deals contain “dangerously high” levels of sugar, salt or saturated fat, a new report has found.

The report from Action on Salt, a group of scientists from Queen Mary University of London who are concerned with salt and its effects on health, found that some meal deal snacks contribute to a third of an adult’s maximum daily recommended salt intake.

Authors of the study explained that salt raises blood pressure and can contribute towards strokes and heart attacks. They added that these findings were “concerning”, considering one in three Britons purchase a meal deal at least twice a week.

The worst-offending snacks for salt intake included Cornish pasties, sausage rolls, cheddar crackers and chicken bites.

The study also found that in each of the eight high street supermarkets and food chains analysed, the chicken sandwich or wrap being sold as part of its meal deal combo had “higher salt levels than a McDonald’s Big Mac and fries”.

In fact, the report found that chicken and bacon sandwiches were often the saltiest meal deal product from each supermarket, with the Asda Chicken and Bacon Caesar Triple and the Tesco Chicken Club Sandwich both containing two grams of salt.

The chicken and bacon sandwich offerings from Boots, Co-op and Sainsbury’s all contained between 1.74 grams and 1.93 grams of salt too.

Out of all the high street supermarkets analysed, Sainsbury’s ranked most favourably with a “greater overall compliance to the salt reduction targets”.

Sheena Bhageerutty, nutritionist at Action on Salt, said: “Without doubt, meal deals are hugely popular especially amongst the nation’s workforce looking for a convenient and ‘value for money’ lunch.

“Yet unbeknown to many consumers, these meal combos and snacks are often exceedingly high in salt which means an adult can consume their maximum daily recommended salt intake in just one meal without even knowing it.

“Rather than trying to ‘upsell’ us on salt, saturated fat and sugar, CEOs of food retailers must act more responsibly by setting strict internal standards including only healthier snack options as part of the ‘deal’.”

Action on Salt is calling for stronger measures to be put in place to improve the nutritional quality of food, including enforcing the salt reduction targets, and for only healthier snacks to be included in all meal deals.

Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary University of London, and chairman of Action on Salt, said: “Reducing salt is the most cost-effective measure for lowering blood pressure and reducing the number of people suffering and dying from strokes, heart disease and life changing disabilities associated with this – all of which is completely avoidable.

“Given the fact that food companies have the very simple option to reformulate with less salt and help prevent the many thousands of people who currently die unnecessarily, it’s remarkable that very few companies choose this option. This is why the Government must enforce its comprehensive salt reduction targets without delay.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told The Independent: “The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is building on our national efforts to improve diet by reducing salt intake.

“We continue to urge the food industry to reduce salt levels in everyday foods further by 2024 and we’ll report on their progress later this year.

“On top of this, we're restricting advertising for foods high in fat, salt or sugar and changing the law to reduce promotions of less healthy food in retailers.”

A spokesperson for Co-op said: “Helping our customers reduce their salt intake is very important to us with 94 per cent of our own brand products already meeting the 2024 salt targets, as we continue to work towards the targets and the imminent introduction of HFSS regulations. All our own brand products carry on pack nutritional information to help our customers with their choices and our Meal Deal snack options include a wide selection of healthier, green and amber traffic light, products.”

The Independent has contacted all supermarkets mentioned for comment.