Salt in ready-made roast dinners poses threat to health, claim campaigners

CAMPAIGNERS have warned families to be careful when choosing ingredients for Sunday roasts after new research revealed a typical dinner contained twice the recommended daily levels of salt for children.

In the largest survey of its kind, Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) looked at nearly 600 roast dinner products.

It found ready-stuffed joints and trimmings typically contained 10 grams of salt, twice the 5g recommended for children and 160 per cent of an adult's daily maximum recommendation.

Cash warned much of the salt comes from pre-prepared vegetables, including root vegetable mash and goose fat potatoes, which together would contain half an adult's daily allowance.

Katharine Jenner, Cash campaign manager, said: "A family roast dinner can be a balanced and healthy meal but you do need to be careful when choosing ready prepared ingredients which can all contain a lot of salt.

"With all we know about the dangers of salt, it is disappointing a portion of vegetables or a small amount of mustard could still contain more of it than a packet of crisps."

However, Cash's findings were disputed by the Food and Drink Federation.

The Federation's director of communications, Julian Hunt, said: "We are proud of the fact that UK food manufacturers are leading the world when it comes to changing the recipes of their products to contain less salt. Those who want a lower salt option - whether to accompany their Sunday roast or any other meal time occasion - can find one simply by looking at the labels that are found on the front of most products sold in UK supermarkets."