Posh sandwich found to contain nearly as much salt as five cheeseburgers

UK salt-monitoring charity Action on Salt has published its annual analysis of pre-packaged sandwiches sold by the country's high-street chains. The headline finding: one premium-range sandwich contains close to 6 g of salt — almost the daily adult limit on its own.

That figure, the charity says, fills Public Health England's recommended daily ceiling of 6 g of salt for adults in a single product, and it is roughly five times the salt in a standard McDonald's cheeseburger (about 1.1 to 1.2 g).

The highest salt level in the sample was found in a premium chain's "crusty bread, smoked bacon, mature cheddar and caramelised onion" line. Action on Salt notes that the labelling on the product includes phrases such as "handmade", "natural" and "wholemeal", yet the sandwich contains roughly twice the salt of the typical pre-packaged sandwich.

The report's authors say overall salt levels in pre-packaged sandwiches have moved very little over the past decade, despite Public Health England's voluntary targets being set to deliver a reduction of about 30 per cent. According to the charity, most sandwich lines in its sample now sit above the voluntary salt target.

The chief executive of Action on Salt said in a statement: "Consumers should be making decisions based on the salt content shown on the front of pack, not on lifestyle imagery. Colour-coded labelling is a tool we already have, but the application has gaps." The charity wants the voluntary front-of-pack scheme to be made mandatory.

The Department of Health and Social Care said the salt-reduction roadmap was being reviewed in conjunction with manufacturers. The department said updated salt targets for packaged foods would be issued by 2027 and that enforcement measures would be strengthened.

Cardiologists say high salt intake is one of the main contributors to hypertension in the UK adult population. According to NHS data, around one in three adults nationally have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, rising to roughly one in two for adults over 50.

Within the sample, 12 products were labelled with "low salt" descriptions despite containing more salt than the Public Health England "low salt" criterion (less than 0.3 g per 100 g). Action on Salt characterised this as weak enforcement of food-labelling regulations.

A senior dietitian at the British Nutrition Foundation, commenting on the report, said: "Sandwiches are one of the cornerstones of the UK lunchtime market. They are one of the highest-impact categories for population-level salt reduction."

Action on Salt has launched a public comparison tool alongside the report. Consumers will be able to look up the salt content of a sandwich by its barcode; a smartphone app version is due for release within two months.