Salt warning on Posh crisps

Levels of salt in some foods are far too high, experts warn today.
Children's snacks are one of the worst offenders, the Food Standards Agency will tell a conference between government ministers and manufacturers.

To protect the public from the health effects of too much salt, including hypertension and high blood pressure, the industry must take action, FSA head Sir John Krebs will tell the meeting.

A number of ready meals and fast foods contain extremely high levels. Some children's products, such as Dairylea Lunchables, contain the total amount of salt a child under six should eat in one day. And Walkers Sensations crisps, advertised by Victoria Beckham, contain more than half the recommended salt level.

The FSA has been in talks with the Food and Drink Federation, which represents manufacturers, as well as the British Frozen Foods Federation and British Retail Consortium to try to achieve action on the problem.

A spokesman for the FSA said: "We are having ongoing discussions and are seriously trying to put pressure on the food industry to take action. We are investigating the scope for further reductions."

The call comes only weeks before the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition - an independent body of experts that advises the Government - releases guidelines on the level of salt adults and children should consume.

They are likely to call for children under six to eat no more than two grammes of salt a day, while those between seven and 14 should eat no more than five. At present, adults consume about nine grammes a day - three more than they should eat.

Today's conference is being held because of the high number of Britons suffering from diet-related problems. Health Minister-Hazel Blears and the chair of the Food and Drink Federation, Sylvia Jay, will speak at the Westminster Diet and Health Forum on what steps need to be taken.

Experts believe action cannot come soon enough. Professor Graham MacGregor, a cardiovascular expert from St George's Hospital in Tooting, has been lobbying for a change through his organisation, Consensus Action of Salt and Health. He says up to 30,000 deaths a year in Britain could be avoided if consumers ate less salt.

"If you got all the experts nutritionists and doctors together to design a diet which is going to cause the worst possible vascular disease, it would be many of the junk foods which are on sale now," Professor MacGregor said. "That is the experiment the food industry is doing with our children. It is designed to cause heart attacks and, in my view, is immoral."

Recent research has found that children as young as three are showing early signs of furring of the arteries, caused by their high salt and fat diet. Salty food also encourages children to consume more fizzy drinks.

The FSA may call on companies to relabel foods with salt levels as opposed to sodium content. The sodium figure must be doubled to reveal the actual amount of salt.

A spokesman for Dairylea Lunchables said salt levels would be reduced by 25 per cent by the end of summer.