Revealed: The supermarket ready meals that have more salt than a whole tube of Pringles (and Tesco is the worst offender)
- Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Sausage and Mash has 2.9g of salt in a serving
- This is more than a 200g tube of Original Pringles, which contains 2.6g of salt
- Many supermarket ready meals have half adult’s recommended intake for a day
Some of the UK’s most popular ready meals contain more salt than a tube of Pringles, new research has revealed.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Sausage and Mash is the worst offender of shop- bought microwave dishes, containing almost 3g of salt, which is half an adult’s daily intake.
A 200g tube of Original flavour Pringles contains 2.6g of salt, which is less than the four worst offenders sold in Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
Analysing the top ten most popular ready meals in the UK, JBH looked at the nutritional differences between the premium and basic ready meals available in Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsburys to find the saltiest supermarket ready meals, overall.
On average, there was eight per cent less salt in the basic branded ready meals, when compared with the premium dishes.
| Supermarket | Dish | Salt (g) | % of daily allowance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sainsburys Taste the Difference | Sausage and Mash | 2.93 | 48.9 |
| Tesco Finest | Fish Pie | 2.9 | 48.3 |
| Tesco Basics | Sausage and Mash | 2.9 | 48.3 |
| Tesco Basics | Carbonara | 2.8 | 46.7 |
| Tesco Finest | Chicken Korma | 2.5 | 41.7 |
| Tesco Finest | Sausage and Mash | 2.5 | 41.7 |
| Sainsburys Taste the Difference | Hot Pot (lamb) | 2.49 | 41.5 |
| Morrisons The Best | Sausage and Mash | 2.46 | 41 |
| Morrisons The Best | Shepherds Pie | 2.44 | 40.7 |
| Tesco Basics | Hot Pot (lamb) | 2.4 | 40 |
| Supermarket | Dish | Salt (g) | % of daily allowance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morrisons Basics | Paella | 0.31 | 5.2 |
| Tesco Basics | Spaghetti Bolognese | 0.9 | 15 |
| Tesco Finest | Spaghetti Bolognese | 1.2 | 20 |
| Sainsburys Taste the Difference | Chicken Korma | 1.3 | 21.7 |
| Sainsburys Taste the Difference | Spaghetti Bolognese | 1.35 | 22.5 |
| Sainsburys Basics | Lasagne | 1.35 | 22.5 |
| Morrisons The Best | Spaghetti Bolognese | 1.37 | 22.8 |
| Sainsburys Basics | Paella | 1.37 | 22.8 |
| Asda Basics | Fish Pie | 1.4 | 23.3 |
| Morrisons The Best | Chicken Korma | 1.41 | 23.5 |
The NHS recommends adults and children over 11 should eat no more than 6g of salt in one day – but many microwave meals have almost half of that in a single serving.
Tesco dominated the top 10 saltiest dishes, with their Finest Fish Pie taking second place, while its Basics Sausage and Mash, Basic Carbonara and Finest Chicken Korma came in third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Among the 10 least-salty dishes, many still had almost a quarter of the daily salt allowance including Morrisons Chicken Korma and Asda’s basic fish pie, which both have 1.4g of salt.
Eating too much salt can put strain on the blood vessels and heart, raising the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, heart failure and stroke.
Adults are advised to eat no more than 6g of salt a day, which is around one teaspoon.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Sausage and Mash is the worst offender of shop bought microwave dishes, containing almost 3g of salt, which is half an adults daily intake. Tesco dominated the top 10 saltiest dishes, with their Finest Fish Pie taking second place
The NHS recommends adults and children over 11 should eat no more than 6g of salt in day – but many microwave meals have almost half that in a single serving including Tesco’s Bangers and Mash (left), which contains 2.9g of salt while Tesco Finest Cumbeland sausages and mash (right) had 2.5g of salt in
A 200g tube of Original flavour Pringles contains 2.6g of salt, which is less than the four worst offenders sold in Tesco and Sainsbury’s
Tesco dominated the top 10 saltiest dishes, with their Finest Fish Pie taking second place, while their Basics Sausage and Mash, Basic Carbonara (left) and Finest Chicken Korma (right) came in third, fourth and fifth respectively.