Some bread contains excess salt

Some bread contains excess salt
LONDON - Campaigners say that the salt present in bread sold in some shops is very high and that this excess salt is responsible for the death of at least 7,000 people annually. The Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) said that over a third of the loaves checked by it had excess salt, well over the recommended limits.

In fact some samples had over 40 percent excess salt in it. Consuming excess salt is implicated in heart disease. The Food Standards Agency recommends a limit of 1.1g of salt in per 100g of bread. But CASH found excessive quantities in 138 wrapped samples.

The group said that if the bread having a high salt content was to reduce salt levels then thousands of lives could still be saved. Burgen's Wholegrain and Cranberry had the lowest salt content, the group said.

Meanwhile the highest salt content was found in Asda's Medium White Big Loaf and Morrison's The Best Farmhouse Malted Bread. Both brands had 1.5g of salt per 100g of bread, CASH said.

"If bakers cut their salt levels to those of the lowest salt producers already on the market, they would effectively save the lives of 7,000 people each year in this country," CASH chairman Professor Graham MacGregor said. "The public should boycott these higher salt breads until they are reduced."

Excessive salt intake increases blood pressure and is a harbinger to heart disease. In fact campaigners have taken up the cause of reducing salt in all packed foods in the country.