‘Dangerously high’ salt levels found in sandwiches at popular food chains, campaigners warn

Popular UK sandwich chains and supermarkets are selling products with “alarmingly high salt levels”, Action on Salt & Sugar has warned.

According to the campaign and research group’s survey of 546 sandwiches, wraps, rolls and baguettes, sandwiches bought out-of-home (OOH) were generally saltier than those sold in supermarkets.

The group found that Gail’s Smoked Chicken Caesar Club contained the highest level of salt, with 6.88g. This is equivalent to nearly 10 rashers of bacon or five McDonald’s Cheeseburgers, and exceeds an adult’s daily 6g salt limit.

Action on Salt & Sugar said the sandwich also contained more than 1,000 calories, delivered 90% of an adult’s maximum daily saturated fat limit, and provided only 20% of an adult’s recommended fibre intake.

Other “poor performers” included Gail’s Smoked Salmon Bagel with Schmear and Pickled Pink Onions, which contains 4.2g of salt, followed by Paul’s Rosette Cheese Salami Gherkin with 4.19g of salt, and Pret a Manger’s Ham & Greve Baguette with 3.85g per serving.

While out-of-home products were found to be saltier on average, examples of products with higher salt content were also found across the retail sector. This included Tesco’s Fully Loaded Hot Honey Halloumi, Falafel & Pickled Slaw wrap with 3.78g, Tootoomoo’s Sriracha Pork Sando with 3.67g and Sainsbury’s Kitchen Deli Pastrami, Cheddar Cheese & Gherkin Mustard Mayo with 3.67g, all containing more salt than 12 standard bags of ready salted crisps.

The survey also found wide differences between similar products. Pret’s Chicken Salad Sandwich contained 2.22g of salt, while Greggs’ Roast Chicken Salad Sandwich contained half as much, with 1.1g. Meanwhile, M&S’ All Day Breakfast Sandwich contained 2.65g of salt, compared with 1.54g in Sainsbury’s All Day Breakfast Sandwich.

Among the mix were also a number of lower-salt products, including Subway’s Veggie Delite Sub with 0.6g of salt, Pret a Manger’s Avo, Olive & Toms Half Baguette at 0.82g, Caffè Nero’s Chicken, Tomato & Basil Hot Wrap at 1.08g, and Greggs’ Tuna Mayonnaise & Cucumber Sandwich at 1.1g per serving.

Lower-salt options in retail included Urban Rajah’s Smashed Onion Bhaji & Chickpea Buroti at 0.70g, Lidl’s Hoisin Duck Wrap at 0.75g and The Gym Kitchen’s Korean BBQ Chicken Wrap at 0.80g.

Notably, every product surveyed from Pollen + Grace, The Gym Kitchen, and Urban Rajah met calorie and salt reduction targets. None of their sandwiches were classed as HFSS.

Within retailers, Asda and Lidl achieved full compliance to the salt targets for sandwiches, and Starbucks and Greggs provided the lowest average salt levels in the OOH sector, with full compliance with salt and calorie targets.

Two years ago, food businesses were expected to meet the voluntary salt reduction targets set out by the government. However, the group found that one in 10 sandwiches still exceeded the salt and calorie levels set out in the official guidance.

Nearly half (44%) of products surveyed would carry a red ‘high’ salt warning on front-of-pack labelling, with 32 delivering half or more of an adult’s maximum daily limit in a single serving.

Meanwhile, almost all the sandwiches surveyed (97%) failed to provide even a third of the daily recommended fibre intake.

As a result, Action on Salt & Sugar is urging the government to review “outdated” salt reduction targets and introduce tougher mandatory limits through the Healthy Food Standard, and backing them with financial penalties for companies that fail to comply.

“Most people choose sandwiches for lunch for their simplicity, convenience and affordability,” said Action on Salt & Sugar head of research and impact Sonia Pombo. “But what they’re actually eating can be a full day’s worth of salt hidden between two slices of bread.

“More than 20 years after the first set of salt reduction targets were introduced, it’s frankly unacceptable that some companies continue to sell sandwiches that exceed an adult’s daily limit in one go.

“Voluntary action has been allowed to drift for too long, and the result is a food environment that continues to put public health at risk. The government must now step in with tough, mandatory measures, because leaving this to industry goodwill has clearly failed.”