Prepare to be stunned by the jaw-dropping truth revealed in a ground-breaking study conducted by Action on Salt, the esteemed research group from Queen Mary University of London. Brace yourself, because the results are enough to make your taste buds shiver. It turns out that restaurants and takeaway companies have been secretly drenching our beloved pizzas with excessive amounts of salt, and they’ve been getting away with it!
According to this eye-opening research, a staggering 50% of all pizzas sold in the UK contain a day’s worth of salt, or even more, in just a single pizza! Yes, you read that right—your seemingly innocent pizza indulgence could be exposing you to dangerous levels of salt. What’s worse, despite the so-called government plan to reduce salt, many pizzas today have even more salt than they did back in 2014. This blatant disregard for your future health is simply unacceptable!
As we commemorate Salt Awareness Week (15th-21st May), Action on Salt is taking a stand. They are calling upon Health Secretary Steve Barclay and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to join forces and enforce salt reduction targets, as many other countries have already done. If they can tackle the issue of excessive salt in soft drinks, why not extend their success to combat excessively salty foods, such as pizzas?
Here’s the harsh reality: our current salt intake is the primary culprit behind elevated blood pressure, which happens to be the world’s leading killer. A shocking 60% of strokes and 50% of heart disease cases can be attributed to this silent menace. Unbelievably, UK adults consume a mind-boggling 3,224 tonnes of salt through pizzas each year—enough to cover the entire football pitch of Wembley Stadium with over 32cm of salt! That’s a staggering amount of sodium wreaking havoc on our health.
But that’s not all. Brace yourself for another shocking revelation. Out of the 1,387 pizzas meticulously surveyed, takeaway pizzas were found to contain more than double the amount of salt compared to those bought in supermarkets. A mind-blowing 66% of pizzas sold in restaurants and takeaways contain a staggering 6g or more of salt per pizza. Picture this: Domino’s ‘The Sizzler Standard Mozzarella Stuffed Crust’ medium pizza takes the crown as the saltiest offender, packing a whopping 21.38g of salt. That’s over three days’ worth of salt in just one meal—more salt than you’d find in three and a half jars of olives!
It’s disheartening to see that while the retail sector is making strides in reducing salt content, restaurant and takeaway companies are shamefully lagging behind. Astonishingly, 50% of medium pizzas sold still exceed salt targets, despite having ample opportunities to comply. The retail sector proves that producing pizzas with significantly less salt is not only achievable but essential for our well-being. It’s as simple as adding less salt during the preparation process—why aren’t more companies following suit?
Sonia Pombo, Registered Nutritionist and Campaign Lead at Action on Salt, is rightfully outraged. She highlights the frustrating reality that some companies stubbornly ignore overwhelming evidence supporting salt reduction. In fact, some companies have even dared to increase salt content, disregarding public health and making a mockery of voluntary reformulation efforts. Responsible businesses have already shown that reducing salt in pizzas is possible, so there’s absolutely no excuse for others not to follow suit.
Professor Graham MacGregor, esteemed Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Queen Mary University of London and Chairman of Action on Salt, states the facts loud and clear. Reducing salt is not only the most cost-effective way to lower blood pressure but also crucial in reducing the number of people suffering from strokes, heart disease, and the debilitating disabilities that accompany them—all of which can be prevented. The Department of Health & Social Care reveals that each gram reduction in population salt intake saves over 4,000 premature deaths per year. It’s a disgrace that food companies continue to endanger our health by loading our meals with excessive salt when the option to reformulate is readily available. The government must act swiftly to safeguard our future health and save the NHS billions of pounds.
Don’t let your favourite treat become a silent assassin. Join the movement for healthier, low-salt pizzas. Support Action on Salt’s call to action and demand that Health Secretary Steve Barclay and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt take immediate action to enforce salt reduction targets. Together, we can create a healthier future for pizza lovers across the nation. Your health matters—let’s make a change today!
