Warburtons crumpet contains nearly as much salt as two portions of McDonald’s fries, campaigners reveal

Repeated failure to reduce salt content is ‘a scandal’

Three out of four Warburtons crumpets tested were above the 2017 government target for salt reduction (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Warburtons crumpets contain nearly as much salt at two portions of McDonald’s fries, campaigners have revealed.

Analysis by the charity Action on Salt, based at Queen Mary University in London, reveals that the bestselling brand has failed to reduce salt levels in its crumpets for four years, despite repeated pressure to do so.

According the group, crumpets are a common household purchase in the UK, with recent data suggesting a 55 per cent increase in sales over the last year.

Each individual Warburtons crumpet contains 0.81 grams of salt, compared with a small portion of McDonald’s fries, which contains 0.44 grams.

Adults eat an average of 8.4g of salt per day, 40 per cent more than the maximum daily recommended intake of 6g.

A reduction in salt intake is considered to be one of the most effective strategies to improve population health outcomes.

As a consequence, the UK government developed voluntary salt reduction targets for over 80 categories of food, with crumpets listed as one of the worst offenders in terms of salt content in our diet.

Their target was for crumpets to contain no more than 1.25g of salt per 100g by 2017 and 1.19g by 2024.

Out of 28 types of crumpet produced by 13 companies, four were found to be above the 2017 target.

Of these, three were Warburtons products: Warburtons giant and normal, both of which contain 1.48g per 100g, and gluten-free.

Kingsmill crumpets were also on the list.

At the other end of the spectrum, Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference luxury multispeed sourdough crumpets contained the least amount of salt, with 0.94g per 100g.

Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary and chairman of Action on Salt, said: “Reducing salt is the most cost-effective measure to lower blood pressure and reduce the number of people suffering from strokes and heart disease.

“Like with the recent and disappointing voluntary sugar reduction progress report issued by [Public Health England], it’s a scandal that certain manufacturers have still not made any progress in reducing the salt in their products. 

“The government must now mandate these targets to ensure a fair and level playing field,” he said.

Zoe Davies, a nutritionist at Action on Salt, said: “Crumpets are a popular comfort food for both adults and children as increased sales indicate. 

“But with added toppings they can quickly accumulate to half of our recommended maximum salt intake for the day (6g).”

A spokesperson for Warburtons told The Independent: "As a responsible family business, we care about providing our consumers with a choice of products that can be eaten as part of a balanced diet and crumpets are no exception. 

"Over the years, we have reduced salt across our range by 25 per cent and our crumpets are rated amber for salt by the government’s traffic light labelling scheme. 

“We always work hard to ensure we review our recipes while making sure we don’t impact the great taste and quality our consumers expect.”

The Independent has approached Kingsmill for comment.