Bacon second only to bread in salt stakes

Bacon is now the second biggest contributor of salt to the UK diet after bread, according to a study.

Two rashers of bacon can contain more than half of the recommended daily amount (RDA) of 6g of salt, while some brands contain three times more salt than others from the same supermarket, the research by Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) found.

The group said bacon contained “huge and unnecessarily high” amounts of salt.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Among the brands singled out were Tesco thick cut smoked back bacon, Morrisons Saver streaky bacon and Tesco Everyday Value unsmoked rind-on middle bacon with 5.3g per two grilled rashers.

Graham MacGregor, Cash chairman and professor of cardiovascular medicine, said: “For every one gram reduction in salt intake we can prevent 12,000 heart attacks, strokes and heart failure, half of which would have been fatal.”

Related topics: