Punch, Wetherspoon's and Hungry Horse criticised over salt level in pies

Wetherspoon's, Punch Taverns and Hungry Horse Pubs have been criticised over "dangerous" salt levels in pies.

The research, carried out by Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) as part of National Salt Awareness Week, revealed that levels exceeded the maximum recommended daily allowance (MDA) of 6g.

All pie and mash meals contained more than 3g of salt, with five meals containing more than 6g.

The worst offender was the Wetherspoon's chicken & mushroom pie with chips or mash, gravy and peas, which had a 7.5g salt content, delivering 125% of the MDA.

CASH found that the salt in the mashed potato and gravy could be doubling the overall level. Punch Taverns' lamb and mint pie contained 3.5g of salt alone, but the amount in its accompaniments raised it to 6.5g.

The aim of this year's National Salt Awareness Week (21-27 March) is to raise awareness amongst men of the dangers of eating too much salt. 46% of men claimed pie and mash to be one of their favourite dishes.

Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Wolfson Institute and chairman of CASH said: "With the food industry still putting so much salt in men's favourite foods, it is no wonder men are at risk of serious health problems such as stroke and heart attacks.

"Cutting men's salt intake from the current 10g a day to the recommended maximum of 6g a day could reduce their risk of having a stroke by up to 20% and of having a heart attack by up to 12%."

Katharine Jenner, nutritionist and campaign director of CASH, said: "Just a few simple changes such as reading the labels in supermarkets or skipping the gravy in pub meals could help you stay within the healthy recommendations."

Only five pub chains had nutritional information available online, with some leading chains failing to provide any information at all.

Wetherspoon's spokesman Eddie Gershon said: "JD Wetherspoon is working closely with its food suppliers, development chefs and the Food Standards Agency to reduce the level of salt in all of its meals. The chicken pie and the British beef and Abbot Ale pie are very popular with our customers. We take on board the findings of this report and we will take steps to reduce the level of salt in both these meals in the coming months. The salt content is for the whole meal, the pie, mash, mushy peas and the gravy. Our most popular pie is the steak and kidney pudding served with chips, garden peas and gravy with a salt content of 4g."

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By Gemma Rowbotham

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