Business information

Is your bread Code Red?

You may be buying bread that would be coded Red in the FSA’s (Food Standards Agency) ‘traffic light’ guidance because of its high salt content, according to the latest survey by Hertfordshire Trading Standards.

The results of the survey have been released to coincide with National Salt Awareness Week (January 29 – February 4).

Trading Standards officers took 53 different random samples from local supermarkets and bakers towards the end of 2006 (?) and sent them off for analysis. The samples gave an average reading of 1.2 per cent salt, although the highest level was 1.61 per cent.

Bread is typically coded Amber under the FSA system (0.3 – 1.5 per cent salt) as salt is needed for preservation, to activate the yeast and for flavouring. Bread with a salt content of 1.5 per cent or more is classed as code Red by the FSA.

The good news, however, is that the latest results represent a significant reduction compared with samples taken in November 2005. In that survey, the average salt content was 1.34 per cent and the highest level was 2.93 per cent.

There is a general agreement among scientists that excess salt in the diet increases the likelihood of premature death, chiefly through illnesses associated with high blood pressure. Campaigners have pointed out that consumers obtain more than 85 per cent of their salt intake from prepared foods from stores and caterers rather than ‘home cooking’.

“When you consider how central bread is in most people’s diets it becomes apparent that one can easily be taking in potentially dangerous levels of salt on a regular basis without even being aware of it,” said said County Councillor Keith Emsall, Executive Member for Community Information and Culture. “There’s certainly no room for complacency, but we were greatly encouraged to see a significant reduction in salt levels compared with the previous survey, which seems to indicate that bakers have listened to our advice.”


Hertfordshire Trading Standards officers will continue to monitor salt levels in bread and other foods and will be carrying out a further sample survey [at the end of this year?]

For more information or advice about salt levels in food products, contact the Food Standards Agency on [add contact details] or Hertfordshire Trading Standards via Consumer Direct on [add standard details as advised by Cathy Fielding].