As part of National Salt Awareness Week, Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) looked at 526 pie, mash and gravy products. Wetherspoons was top of the pubs as the chicken and mushroom pie, served with gravy and peas and a choice of either mash or chips was found to contain 7.5g of salt, 1.5g more than the recommended daily maximum for an adult of 6.0g, and the British Beef and Abbot Ale Pie with the same sides contained 6.7g of salt per meal.
Pie meals from Punch Taverns and Hungry Horse pubs also exceeded an entire day’s salt intake, and Wetherspoons’ spokesman, Eddie Gershon, assured that ‘The company is working closely with its suppliers, development chefs and the FSA [Food Standards Agency] to reduce the amount of salt in these two meals, and we would aim to have a salt reduction in the coming months.’
For the supermarket salt shockers, Waitrose topped the tables as the supermarket’s Mushroom and Red Wine Pie contained 2.69g of salt per 270g portion, and its Aberdeen Angus Steak & Ale Topcrust Pie also contained 2.69g of salt for a 300g portion size. Their spokesperson said ‘We want to make it as easy as possible for our customers to eat a healthy diet which is why all of Waitrose products meet the Governments 2010 salt targets. Both of these pies will be reviewed with portion size and salt content, working towards the revised 2012 target.’ However, other supermarkets such as Marks and Spencer and Iceland weren’t far behind Waitrose with some of their pie offerings.
The survey was published during the same week that the Department of Health announced 170 firms and organisations had agreed to its ‘Responsibility Deal’ for improving public health in England. Waitrose and Marks & Spencer, along with 5 other Supermarkets, are backing the scheme, and pledged to make a further 15% cut in salt levels by the end of 2012. It’s also important to note that adding mashed potato and gravy can significantly increase the salt content of a meal, such as the Lamb & Mint Pie from Punch Taverns almost doubling the salt content from 3.5g to 6.5g just by adding the mash and gravy.