Extremely high salt in most finished sauces - risk for blood pressure and heart disease increases

Many sauces contain significant amounts of salt

When it comes to eating fast, many people fall back on so-called finished products. These are usually not really healthy because they contain too much salt. Experts studied the amount of salt in sauces with worrying results:

• Ready-made sauces from the supermarket contain too much salt.
• Many people consume more than twice the recommended amount of salt every day.
• Most sufferers are not aware of the amounts of salt in finished sauces.
• Too much salt raises blood pressure, thereby increasing the risk of heart disease.

The scientists at the George Institute for Global Health found in their recent research that ready-to-eat sauces often contain a lot of salt, which is bad for health. The experts published a report on the results of their study.

Many ready-made sauces contain too much salt. Daily consumption of too much salt can lead to dangerous heart disease. (Image: HandmadePictures / fotolia.com)

Researchers studied 2,215 sauces

For their study, the Australian physicians analyzed a total of 2,215 sauces for cooking, which were sold between 2010 and 2017 in supermarkets. These sauces had a big common problem, they contained too much salt.

Consumers should be informed about the amount of salt in finished sauces

The results have been released to support a new campaign called Unpack the Salt. This campaign is being run by the Heart Foundation and aims to raise awareness among consumers about too much salt in food. People need to be aware of the health risk of salt in food, the researchers say.

Most people take too much salt every day

The scientists found that many pasta sauces, Indian and Asian pastes, chilled and powdered casserole sauces exceed the maximum recommended daily salt intake of the World Health Organization (WHO), which is five grams. A significant proportion of people in Australia consume almost twice as much salt daily, 75 percent of which comes from packaged foods, explain the physicians.

These products contain a lot of salt

There was a big difference in the amount of salt contained between different brands of tomato-based sauces, with some containing 90 times more salt than others, the authors explain. The salt content was highest in powdered sauces, which are used as part of meals such as casseroles, curries and pasta dishes. Some contained nearly half of the recommended daily salt intake of an entire family in a single meal. Even curry pastes contain high salt concentrations, some 20 times more salt than others. On average, the salinity of uncooled sauces from the supermarket increased by 29 percent between 2010 and 2017.

The maximum recommended amount of salt is often exceeded

The report showed excessive salt levels in cooking sauces and huge variations in salt levels from product to product, which endangers the health of consumers, says Clare Farrand of the George Institute for Global Health. "A fresh pasta sauce from the supermarket refrigerator contains almost a third of the daily salt intake in the sauce alone, add cheese and you increase the family's salt intake far beyond the maximum daily recommendation," Farrand adds in a press release.

Check the salt content on the label

Gravy blends are often used to cook meals for the whole family. However, many people may not realize how salty these sauces really are. The label should be checked to determine sauces with lower salt levels. It is even better to make the sauce completely yourself, with as little salt as possible, the experts advise.

Too much salt affects the blood pressure

The relationship between a high-salt diet and high blood pressure is clear. Hypertension in turn leads to an increased risk of heart disease.

"High blood pressure causes 32 percent of heart disease and stroke in Australia and currently there are nearly six million adult Australians with high blood pressure. That's more than a third of our adult population, "said Kellie-Ann Jolly of the Heart Foundation in a press release from the George Institute for Global Health. If you cook with some of these sauces, you eat much more than the recommended amount of salt per serving. This is alarming given that we have to encourage people to eat less salt, not more, adds the expert.

Producers of pasta sauces reduce the salt content

It is crucial to raise consumer awareness of the dangers of high salt levels in packaged foods so that they can make a healthy choice for themselves and their families. (As)