A recent survey of the salt content of nearly 300 fresh and packaged loaves from chain and independent high street bakeries, supermarkets and their in-store bakeries, found that more than one quarter of them (28%) contained the same amount, or more, of salt in one slice as in a packet of crisps (known in the US as potato chips). Reporting the results today on their website, the UK group Consensus Action on Salt & Health (CASH), found that bread from high street bakeries had the most salt.

Also, given the Department of Health’s recent announcement that bread is responsible for nearly one fifth (18%) of the salt we consume every day, CASH say it is a “scandal” that freshly baked bread carries no information about salt content on the package labelling and call for the Department to ensure all bread is clearly labelled and that producers are made to stay within the government recommended target of less than 1g per 100g.

As they found large variations in the salt content of the bread they surveyed, CASH advise consumers to read the labels and compare products by 100g (100g is about two slices of bread). For instance, the packaged bread with the highest salt content in their survey was Cranks Seeded Farmhouse, with 2.03g per 100g, which was nearly four times the amount of salt in the bread with the lowest content, which at 0.58g per 100g they found to be a loaf of Marks & Spencer’s Simply More Eat Well Healthiest White Bread.

CASH found that supermarkets’ in-store bakery bread (the one that is not required to carry nutrition information on the label) was generally higher in salt than their packaged bread, with differences of more than 0.5g between similar products. For example they found the packaged version of Sainsbury’s medium wholemeal loaf contained only 0.74g per 100g, whereas the in-store bakery’s large wholemeal loaf contained 1.29g per 100g.

The news was no better for premium high street bakery chains, which one might expect to provide healthier options, but this was not the case, said CASH. Not only is the bread unlabelled, but they found it can contain more than three times the amount of salt as in bread baked in the supermarket. For example, they found a Pain De Campagne from Paul contained 2.83g per 100g (this is more concentrated than seawater) whereas a white long split tin loaf from Waitrose contained only 0.84g of salt per 100g.

Many people might assume that specialty breads, such as rye bread, are healthier options and have less salt: not so, say CASH. For example, they found Schneider Brot Organic Rye Bread with Sunflower Seeds contained 1.02g of salt per slice, which is 1.43g per 100g.

Katharine Jenner, CASH Campaign Director, based at Queen Mary, University of London, told the press that:

“Most people wouldn’t realise that bread contains so much salt, as it doesn’t taste salty”.

“You certainly wouldn’t expect to be eating more salt than a packet of crisps in just one slice of your favourite bread! It is scandalous that there is no labelling on fresh bread, without it, how are we supposed to know where salt is hidden and cut our intake to less than 6g a day?” she added.

Professor Graham MacGregor of the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine and Chairman of CASH, said:

“With bread being the biggest contributor of salt to our diets, it is frankly outrageous that bread still contains so much salt. The Department of Health needs to ensure that all bread is clearly labelled and that all manufacturers reduce the salt of bread to less than the salt target of 1g/100g.”

He said it is the high levels of salt hidden in everyday food, like bread, that pushes up adults’ and children’s levels of sodium and consequently their blood pressure.

“If all manufacturers cut the salt in their breads by a half, it would reduce our salt intakes by half a gram per day, which is predicted to prevent over 3,000 deaths from strokes and heart attacks a year,” said MacGregor.

Although there is a lot of disturbing news in the survey results, and levels of salt in our bread are still too high, CASH also found they have come down by 30% in the last ten years.

CASH suggest consumers aim for about 0.4g per 100g when choosing which bread to buy, and use low salt fillings for sandwiches, for example chicken, tuna or plain cheese spreads, mozzarella and salad. Avoid salty spreads like mustard, Marmite, salted butter and pickle, and remember, the thicker the slice, the more salt it contains, so don’t cut bread too thick and choose medium sliced instead of thick sliced.

You can see the full report on their website, which also has recipes for making your own salt-free bread at home.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD