‘Healthy’ plant-based meals drowning in salt, finds Queen Mary’s Action on Salt
Experts are urging the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock to implement more robust salt reduction targets – with proper enforcement – after the Government announced a commitment to reducing salt in the Prevention Green Paper last year.
The plea comes after a survey (the largest of its kind) of 290 plant-based and vegan meals collected from a total of 45 restaurant, takeaway, fast food and coffee chains, revealed the salt and saturated fat content, and the lack of nutritional information available.
If food or drinks are high in saturated fat, salt or sugar (HFSS), they are not classified as ‘healthy’.
Restaurant plant-based and vegan meals
Three out of five plant-based restaurant meals surveyed with nutrition information (96/151) contain 3g or more salt – that’s half of an adult’s maximum daily intake of salt; 19 of these provide 6g or more salt – that’s an adult’s entire maximum daily limit in just one meal.
If these restaurant chains were to display colour-coded nutrition information on their menus like packaged food in supermarkets, more than four out of five (127/151) plant-based meals would have a red label for high salt content (ie >1.8g salt in a meal) .
Queen Mary’s said the variation in salt content of similar meals served at different restaurants shows that salt isn’t needed for flavour – with some restaurants offering tasty dishes that have seven times less salt than their competitors, clearly demonstrating that these meals can easily be made with much less salt.
Fast food & coffee chains plant-based and vegan meals
Two thirds of plant-based meals (82/128) available in fast food and coffee chains would get a red label for being high in salt (>1.8g salt per portion) – along with nearly two in five (29/128) meals containing 3g or more salt ie half of an adult’s maximum daily intake of salt.
Saturated fat in plant-based and vegan meals
Over half of all restaurant meals surveyed would qualify for a red label (>6g/portion) for saturated fat, and more than one in five dishes provide more than half of an adult’s maximum daily intake for saturated fat.
Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary University of London and chair of Action on Salt, said: “It is shocking that many in the ‘out of home’ sector appear to be deliberately ignoring the voluntary salt reduction targets, in what many regard incorrectly as healthy food. The government must enforce stricter and more comprehensive salt reduction targets and create a fair and level playing field wherever you choose to eat.”