A research report released to coincide with World Salt Awareness Week (from March 20 – 26) has described the salt levels in some breads as ‘alarming’.
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To compound the issue, the breads found to contain these high levels are being marketed as ‘healthy’.
The study, released by the George Institute for Global Health, found that just one slice of a seemingly "healthy" bread in the supermarket can contain double the typical amount of salt in a packet of chips.
Researchers analysed nearly 1500 bread products, including loaves, crumpets and flat breads, over the past seven years.
They found some loaves contained more than one-third of the daily recommended salt intake of five grams in just two slices.
One of the most concerning products was Schwob's Dark Rye, which had 1.2 grams of salt per slice (70g). To compare, a small packet of Kettle's sea salt chips has less than half the amount.
The Schwob’s Swiss Bakery could not be contacted for comment with a message for the Melbourne number advising it was ‘disconnected’ and the Sydney number going to voice message with no response in time for deadline.
The researchers found flat breads had the highest average sodium content in all breads analysed in 2017.
"We know that excess salt in our diet increases blood pressure and the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease, so our findings are incredibly worrying especially as many of the products that have the highest levels of salt are perceived by families as being the healthiest," lead author Clare Farrand said.
Ms Farrand said they found "huge" variations in salt levels in each bread category, which showed there was a clear opportunity for manufacturers to reduce the amount of salt in their recipes.
There was some good news with the research revealing that salt levels in breads and bread rolls had dropped by about 10 per cent over the past seven years.
The theme for this year's World Salt Awareness Week is 'Salt: The Forgotten Killer'.
For more information go to: www.worldactiononsalt.com