UK: Bread is as salty as a packet of crisps

New research has found that bread, whether it be your morning slice of toast, your lunchtime sandwich or dipped in your soup, could be packed with hidden salt.

Consensus Action on Salt & Health (CASH) surveyed the salt content of 294 fresh and packaged loaves from supermarkets and their in-store bakeries as well as chain and independent high street bakeries and found that more than 1 in 4 (28%) loaves of bread contain as much salt, or even more, per slice than a packet of crisps.

These findings comes soon after the Department of Health announced that bread is the largest contributor of salt to our diet, providing almost a fifth (18%) of our current daily salt intake

CASH’s research has highlighted large variations in the salt content of bread, making it essential to read the labels, where available, and compare products by 100g (equivalent to 2 thick slices of bread).

The highest standard packaged bread, Cranks Seeded Farmhouse at 2.03g/100g, contains nearly four times more salt than the lowest, a Marks & Spencer’s Simply More Eat Well Healthiest White Bread (0.58g/100g).