Health concerns raised over the amount of salt in pizzas

Some 48 per cent of 1,267 pizzas tested for Cash (Consensus Action on Salt and Health) contained more than the recommended daily intake of 6g of salt, while five contained 16g - the equivalent of seven Big Macs.

Cash said it was disappointed with the findings, which follow a call to action in 2012 after a previous pizza survey and new salt reduction targets set by the Department of Health.

The previous survey found nearly three quarters of all restaurant and takeaway pizzas contain more than 6g of salt.

Takeaway pizzas including Papa John’s Stuffed Crust Sausage and Pepperoni and Domino’s Hot Dog Stuffed Crust Pepperoni Passion pizza contain as much as 16g of salt per medium-sized pizza - the equivalent of nearly three teaspoons of salt.

Just one third of pizzas targeted at children in restaurants met the children’s salt target of 1.8g of salt per portion.

Cash found that the majority of pizzas - 59 per cent - mentioned in both surveys had either remained the same or increased in salt.

It found Sainsbury’s Thin and Crispy Cheese and Tomato pizza now has more salt than it did two years ago, at 0.88g per 100g in 2012 compared with 1.3g per 100g now.

Pizza Express, which was highlighted in the 2012 survey for serving saltier pizzas in their restaurants than they sold in supermarkets, had increased the salt content of its supermarket margherita and pepperoni pizzas by as much as 0.3g per 100g.

Cash said the findings demonstrated a “complete halt in progress and a clear lack of commitment from the food industry”.

Many manufacturers continued to fail to meet the targets set out by the Department of Health for 2012, and had not signed up to the new Responsibility Deal salt reduction 2017 pledge, it said.

Cash nutritionist Sonia Pombo added: “Most of us aren’t aware of how much salt we actually eat on a daily basis, and thus the danger we are putting ourselves in.

“With three-quarters of our salt intakes coming from processed foods such as pizza, how are any of us able to choose a healthier diet? We need the food industry to help us improve our diet, not to hide three times more salt than is recommended in a day in a single pizza.”