UK pubs are serving too much salt, says a study by
Consensus Action on Salt and Health. Targets for the study were three popular family eateries: Wetherspoons, Harverster and Nando’s.
CASH complains that some children's meals have three times the salt of a McDonald’s Happy Meal. But it's not that all dishes are too salty, it’s just that nutrition info isn't there to help parents avoid the ones that are.
Even though Nando’s and Wetherspoons provide nutritional info with their online menus, that's not very helpful when ordering at the restaurant.
It's very important to avoid early addiction, says CASH, because salt cravings can lead to serious health issues in later life, including stroke and kidney disease.
So restaurants should cut down on salt overall and make nutrition info easily accessible. UK’s Health Minister could also encourage using sea salt instead of table salt and ban MSG, as UK’s Co-op group did years ago.
Tell Public Health Minister Anne Milton to take a stand to reduce salt in kids meals.
We, the undersigned, ask UK’s Public Health Minister to require family eateries to disclose the salt content in children’s meals and to reduce their use of sodium.
Also helpful would be to promote the use of sea salt over processed table salt, since sea salt is healthier and requires less amounts to satisfy cravings. Banning MSG, as UK’s Co-op did in 2005, would be another good way to improve children’s health.
Most important is that parents have access to all the information they need to make the best choices for their children.
Thank you for your attention to these concerns.
