Britain’s supermarket chains have refused a direct request by the Government to improve their plans to cut back on salt, according to a report in today’s Independent.

The Public Health Minister, Melanie Johnson, has demanded that food retailers update their salt reduction plans by the end of the week but Sainsbury, Waitrose, Iceland and Asda have all ignored the request. Tesco has said it has not yet been informed of the demand and will therefore not respond.

The supermarkets have stated they will continue to work towards the salt reduction strategies they formed at the start of this year, despite being less rigorous than the latest Government plans.

A spokeswoman for Sainsbury said: “We are not going to meet that deadline because we believe our action plan is fine. We agreed it with the Food Standards Agency. We are making good progress to achieving the target we set ourselves.”

Johnson’s request coincides with today’s launch of the Government’s national campaign to encourage consumers to reduce salt intake levels.