High levels of salt found in fast-food chains

Many meals at UK fast-food restaurants contain “shockingly” high levels of salt, campaigners warned today.

Lobby group Consensus Action on Salt (Cash) surveyed four of the UK’s most popular fast food chains and found that many serve well over the maximum daily recommended limit of salt in just one meal.

Cash surveyed 346 individual items of food and drink and 264 advertised meal combinations at Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonald's and Burger King many of which were aimed specifically at children.

Pizza Hut scored particularly badly with one meal containing four times the daily limit of salt for a six-year old.

The majority of advertised standard size individual ‘meal deals’ from Burger King and KFC and all those from McDonald’s had lower levels of salt compared to the lowest salt individual meals from Pizza Hut.

Cash chairman Professor Graham MacGregor said: "It is over four years since the maximum daily limits for salt were established for adults and children and yet this survey shows that the salt levels in some of these meals are staggeringly high."

The saltiest individual meals

• Pizza Hut Meat Feast Italian Pizza Plus (9.7g)
• KFC Variety Meal (6.3g)
• Burger King Chicken BLT Baguette Meal (4.8g)
• McDonalds Quarter Pounder with Cheese Meal (3.2g)

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By Kerstin Kühn

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