Marks & Spencer salads have been slammed for their high salt content in a new report.

Research from Consensus Action on Salt & Health claims that 98% of salads available in UK stores contained more salt that a pack of crisps.

M&S was identified as a major culprit, offering seven of the 10 saltiest salads on sale in UK supermarkets. Its Taste of Asia salad was found to contain 2.8g of salt – the equivalent of five bags of Walkers crisps.

Other stores criticised by the report include sandwich chain EAT, Pret a Manger and KFC.

"Many women choose salad as a healthy and convenient lunch, particularly when watching their waistline," said Cash campaign manager Katharine Jenner.

“Rather than feeling healthy, they often feel bloated and sluggish – symptoms of water retention that can be caused by the hidden salt in these salads.

“In the long term, the health problems are more serious as salt intake is linked to osteoporosis and high blood pressure."

Responding to the claims, M&S nutritionist Claire Hughes said: "Cash's survey makes comparing salt levels in salads very confusing for consumers as their survey looks at different pack sizes. We always provide front-of-pack colour-coded labelling and are committed to continuing to review the salt in our products."

Read more
No change for HFSS advert restrictions (31 July 2010)
Tesco brings in new own-label flag for healthy option lines (31 July 2010)
Heinz low-salt soups for health-conscious (17 July 2010)

Topics