‘Lower in salt’- UK fast food

The news may come as a surprise to many people, but Britain apparently leads the way in reducing salt in our fast food chains.
A survey has revealed that fast food in the UK has the lowest amount of salt overall, when comparing foods from six international fast food chains worldwide.

The amount of salt in Chicken McNuggets, for instance, was 2.5 times higher in the U.S. than here at home in the UK.

While the survey doesn’t take any notice of unhealthy fat content, however, it does seem as if not all fast food is created equal.
The international survey, conducted by the University of Calgary, examined salt content in fast food chains McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Domino’s Pizza and Subway. Countries looked at included the UK, the U.S., France, Canada, New Zealand and Australia (where Burger King is known as Hungry Jacks).

Food examined included burgers, chicken items, pizza, salads, sandwiches, savoury breakfast products and French fries.
The Chicken McNuggets weren’t the only disparity. Researchers found that a Subway ‘Club Sandwich’ contained twice the amount of salt in the U.S. and Australia than it did in France.

Meanwhile, French fries in Canada contained twice as much salt on average than they did in France and the U.S., while a Double Whopper served in the U.S., New Zealand and Australia contained more salt than its counterpart in Canada and the UK.

Overall, the UK had the lowest amount of salt in the products measured, while its equivalent in the U.S. had the highest.
Writing in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the study authors theorise that the lower salt levels in the UK could be a result of the fast food industry’s participation in the country’s bid to reduce salt.

While stopping far short of encouraging fast food consumption in the UK, the researchers point out that reducing the salt intake of fast food elsewhere in a similar way over several years could reduce the number of deaths.

“Recent estimates suggest that the numbers of deaths averted by moderate reductions in population salt consumption would be at least as many as those achieved by plausible reductions in population smoking rates,” said the researchers.

Fast food companies such as McDonald’s, however, state that they are already reducing the salt content of their foods elsewhere – planning to reduce it by 15% in the U.S. by 2015, for instance — and have been doing so since the data was collected in 2010.

Professor of medicine at the University of Calgary, Dr Norman Campbell, also admitted the study had limitations as it relied on the fast food company’s websites to obtain the salt data, which could be inaccurate.

He also stressed that fast food companies weren’t the only source of salt in our diets.

Speaking to Reuters, he said: “Yes, salt in fast food is very high but if you went to an expensive restaurant, the sodium levels would be very high. If you buy packaged foods, the levels would often be very high.”