FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY SURVEY

8 Jul 2004 12:45 PM

FEATURE RELEASE

Surveys of pizzas, baked beans and canned pasta, published today by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), show that within these ranges of family staples salt levels can vary significantly. One child's pizza was found to contain almost three times as much salt as that found in another brand of pizza. Some brands of standard baked beans contain only two-thirds the salt of others.

Reductions have been made by some manufacturers since these surveys were conducted, but levels still need to substantially decrease across the full range of processed foods in order to reach the Agency's target of reducing salt consumption to 6 grams a day by 2010. The Agency is working closely with industry to secure further commitments to salt reduction.

Scientific research links high levels of salt in the diet to high blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. High blood pressure is a cause, or a contributing factor in over 170,000 deaths each year in England alone. The recommended level of salt intake for adults is 6g a day and proportionally lower for children. On average adults are currently consuming about 9.5g a day.

The Agency's on-going programme of surveys is used to highlight the salt levels of everyday foods.

Sir John Krebs, Chairman, Food Standards Agency said:

"Foods such as baked beans, spaghetti and pizza are products which families rely on. 75% of our daily salt intake comes from salt hidden in products such as these, and not from salt that we add ourselves. The fact that the salt in one can of baked beans, or a pizza, can vary so dramatically indicates that manufacturers can reduce the amount of salt they add to these products. The Food Standards Agency wants to see more substantial reductions in salt in food products."

Pizza Survey Results

98 fresh, frozen and take-away pizzas were analysed as part of the survey. The survey identified nutrient content by laboratory analysis, once the samples had been cooked according to the manufacturers' instructions.

Children's Pizzas - Cheese and Tomato
(95g - average size of a child-size pizza)

Product Salt per 95g % of recommended portion* maximum salt intake
for a 7-10 year old
(5g/d)*
Highest Salt Content
Iceland Kids Crew Cheese and 1.4g 28%
Tomato Pizza
Sainsbury's Blue Parrot Cafe 1.4g 28%
Cheese and Tomato Pizza+
Lowest Salt Content
Tesco Kids Cheese and Tomato 1.0g 20%
Pizza
Waitrose Food Explorers 0.5g 10%
Cheese and Tomato Pizza

+ Company has informed FSA that product composition has changed since sampling for this survey

Product Salt per 200g % of recommended portion* maximum salt intake
for an Adult (6g/d)*
Highest Salt Content
Dr Oetker Crisp Fine Base 4.4g 73%
Speciale Pizza
Tesco Stonebaked Pepperoni Pizza 4.1g 68%
Lowest Salt Content
Tesco Stonebaked Ham and 3.0g 50%
Pineapple Pizza
Tesco Stonebaked Barbecue 2.4g 40%
Chicken Pizza

Takeaway Thin Based Cheese and Tomato Pizza
(Adult Portion 200g - approx. half of a standard sized retail pizza)

Product Salt per 200g % of recommended portion* salt intake for
an Adult (6g/d)*
Highest Salt Content
Pizza Hut Thin Base Margherita Pizza 3.2g 53%
Pizza Express Thin Base Margherita 2.9g 50%
Pizza
Lowest Salt Content
Bella Pasta / Bella Italia Thin Base 2.5g 42%
Margherita Pizza
Dominos Thin Base Original Cheese 2.4g 40%
and Tomato Pizza

Baked Beans & Tinned Pasta Survey Results

115 products were surveyed. Samples were divided into categories by product type as well as healthy eating brands and children's brands. The salt, sugar and fat content of the products were taken from the labels of the products

Children's Pasta Shapes in Tomato Sauce
(Child size portion for a 7-10 year old 97g)
Product Salt per 97g % of recommended portion* maximum salt
intake for a 7-10
year old (5g/d)*
Highest Salt Content
Safeway Kids Spaghetti Letters 1.5g 30%
HP Character range of Children's 1.2g 24%
Pasta Shapes+
Lowest Salt Content
Waitrose Food Explorers Spaghetti 0.6g 12%
Numbers
Sainsbury's Blue Parrot Cafe Range 0.5g 10%
Asda Kids Super Saucy Spaghetti 0.5g 10%
Letters++

+ Company has informed FSA that product composition has changed since sampling for this survey
++ Product no longer available

Standard Baked Beans
(Adult Portion 210g - approx. half a tin)

Product Salt per 210g % of recommended maximum portion* salt intake for an Adult
(6g/d)*
Highest Salt Content
Morrisons Baked Beans 3.2g 53%
Budgens Baked Beans 3.2g 53%
Somerfield Baked Beans 3.2g 53%
Lowest Salt Content
Co-op Baked Beans 2.1g 35%
Waitrose Baked Beans 2.1g 35%
Heinz Baked Beans+ 2.1g 35%

+ Company has informed FSA that product composition has changed since sampling for this survey

Standard Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce
(Adult Portion 210g - approx. half a tin)

Product Salt per % of recommended 210g maximum salt intake
portion* for an Adult (6g/d)*
Highest Salt Content
Asda Spaghetti and Spaghetti Loops 3.7g 62%
Co-op Spaghetti 3.7g 62%
Lowest Salt Content
HP Spaghetti 2.1g 35%
Somerfield Spaghetti 2.1g 35%
Sainsbury's Spaghetti and 2.1g 35%
Spaghetti Rings
Crosse & Blackwell Spaghetti 2.1g 35%
Heinz Spaghetti+ 2.1g 35%
Heinz Spaghetti Hoops+ 1.6g 27%

+ Company has informed FSA that product composition has changed since sampling for this survey

The full survey results can be found on the FSA website at: Pizza survey -
www.food.gov.uk/science/surveillance/fsis2004branch/fsis5804 and
Baked Beans and Canned Pasta survey -
www.food.gov.uk/science/surveillance/fsis2004branch/fsis5704

Notes for editors

1. Research was carried out by Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association Group for the Food Standards Agency. The products were purchased during January and February 2004.

2. * Figures have been rounded to one decimal place and percentages calculated from these rounded figures.

3. In November 2003 Sainsbury's announced that they were reducing the salt levels in their own brand pizzas. However, the sampling for the pizza survey took place before any products had been reformulated. Similarly, both Heinz and Premier Foods have made recent commitments to reduce salt further in their baked beans and canned pasta products.

4. All the responses to the survey from the maufacturers are included in the food survey information sheet at:
Pizza survey -
www.food.gov.uk/science/surveillance/fsis2004branch/fsis5804 and
Baked Beans and Canned Pasta survey -
www.food.gov.uk/science/surveillance/fsis2004branch/fsis5704

Further information on food industry plans on salt reduction are at www.food.gov.uk/healthiereating/dailydiet/salt/saltprogressstatement

5. Currently, average adult salt consumption is 9.5 gram per day. FSA advice recommends that people should try and consume no more than 6g of salt a day.

6. The report of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (2003), Salt and Health made recommendations on the maximum amounts of salt that children should have in their diet.
- Up to 6 months - less than 1g per day
- 7 to 12 months - 1g per day
- 1 to 3 years - 2g per day
- 4 to 6 years - 3g per day
- 7 to 10 years - 5g per day
- From the age of 11 children should have no more than 6g a day.

7. Advice on how to reduce salt intake, and new targets for reducing children's intake can be found on the FSA's website, www.food.gov.uk. The SACN report Salt and Health can be found on
www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/saltandhealth0503.pdf

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