Savoury picnic foods ‘have more salt than McDonald’s burger’

One in four savoury picnic foods is dangerously high in salt, with so-called “healthy” vegetarian foods among the worst offenders, a report has claimed.

A family enjoying a picnic barbecue party

The study found some olives contain double the salt concentration of seawater while other products have more salt than a McDonald’s hamburger and fries.

Half of products were higher in salt than their average salt targets and 17 per cent had more salt than their maximum target, according to the analysis by Action on Salt.

The research, which analysed 555 savoury picnic finger foods, said a quarter of the products would qualify for a red label on front of the pack and called for compulsory front-of-pack nutritional labelling on all food products.

Mhairi Brown, a nutritionist at Action on Salt, said: “This survey highlights just how easy it is for consumers to unknowingly eat huge amounts of salt and saturated fat hidden in savoury snacks and picnic favourites. Food manufacturers must get on board in our efforts to improve the nation’s health.

“We found a large variation in the salt content of product categories, proving reformulation is easily achievable.

“We want to see the food industry disclosing nutritional information clearly on front of pack on all products so everyone can easily find healthier options.”

The saltiest sausage roll was Fry’s Sausage Roll 80g – a vegan brand with 1.8g salt per 100g. Meanwhile Ginsters Cornish Pasty contained 2.99g of salt per portion, equivalent to seven portions of salted peanuts, and Aldi’s Eat & Go Sausages & Ketchup contained 2.2g per portion – as much salt as 4.5 bags of ready salted crisps. Fry’s Spicy Three Bean Pasty contained 1.8g per portion which is the amount of salt in a McDonald’s hamburger and fries.

Action on Salt said nearly half of the products surveyed were “worryingly high” in saturated fat.

Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary University of London, said: “The public are still eating more salt than recommended, which is leading to thousands dying or suffering from entirely unnecessary strokes and heart disease.”

Recent research from Food Standards Scotland found that two-thirds of Scots eat too much salt.

The Scottish Government is considering responses to a consultation on restricting the promotion and marketing of discretionary foods high in fat, sugar or salt with little or no nutritional benefit.