Excessive levels of salt in bread- findings from a global survey

A new survey through the World Action on Salt and Health (WASH), Queen Mary University London, found excessive levels of salt in bread.

Bread from 32 countries and regions were included in the survey, with over 2,000 bread products assessed including; white, wholemeal, mixed grain and flat breads.

The saltiest bread was a Rosemary Foccacia from ACE Bakery, Canada, containing 2.65g of salt per 100g. Mixed grain breads contained the lowest amount of salt on average, yet there was variation within this category with the lowest in salt multigrain bread containing 0.09g/100g (a bread available in Costa Rica) compared to the highest salt content of 2.50g/100g in a multigrain bread available in Bulgaria.

Bread was targeted in this survey as in many countries is a staple food, contributing to salt intake due to the frequency at which it is eaten.

Experts commented that “Globally we must do more to reduce salt intake, and a simple way to do this is to lower salt in our staple foods”.

Read more here.