September 13, 2012

Salty bacon must be clearly labelled with traffic light colours

Traffic light food labels help shoppersA new survey has shown two rashers of bacon can sometimes be twice as salty as seawater.

The research from Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) reveals high amounts of salt in bacon, with some products containing more than half the daily recommendation of salt in just two rashers.

The daily recommended amount of salt for an adult is 6g but two grilled rashers of back bacon in some supermarkets contained up to 3.8g of salt.

Victoria Taylor, our Senior Dietitian, said: “We can all do our bit to make our cooked breakfasts healthier by grilling rather than frying, including more fruit and reducing portion sizes.

“While you can avoid adding more salt yourself, you can’t take out what has already been added by manufacturers. We need the food industry to help shoppers through consistent reformulation programmes as well as clear, front of pack food labels using traffic light colours.

“Too much salt in our diet is linked to high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease, and everyone has a part to play in reducing the amount of salt we’re eating as a nation.”

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